


The Second Hand Unwinds

by writetherest



Category: Once Upon A Time - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, F/F, amnesia is my favorite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-03-05
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-12-23 06:21:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 55,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/923029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writetherest/pseuds/writetherest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>What if when Sidney cut Emma's brakes, the accident hadn't been so minor? And how will one little incident cause everything to unravel?</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the Cyndi Lauper song _Time After Time_. All of the love and thanks in the entire world to fictorium for everything, but most especially for always being a text away to let me talk through everything and for keeping me sane. Not only is she an amazing friend, but she's a great beta too. Any remaining mistakes are assuredly mine. Spoilers up to 1x11, then goes decidedly AU.

The black Mercedes' turning signal lit up as Regina steered the car onto the access road. Emma flicked the turning signal on in the cruiser and turned the wheel, her foot going to the brake to slow up on the slick road. But when she depressed the pedal, nothing happened. She pushed down harder, but still nothing.

"Emma." Sidney's voice sounded slightly panicked.

Emma continued to pump the pedal, but the car only sped up, its wheels sliding on the wet asphalt.

"It won't stop." She gasped out as she tried to turn the wheel and control the car. But she couldn't control it, and no matter how hard she hit the brake pedal, nothing happened.

In her rear-view mirror, Regina watched as the cruiser skidded on the road. She rolled her eyes. Apparently the girl had never learned how to drive in the rain, along with never learning how to properly tail someone. How she had ever made a living as a bail bonds person, Regina couldn't guess, because it had been obvious that Emma was following her from the minute she set out. The woman was practically tailgating her, for goodness sake.

But the car continued to skid, and Regina tapped her own brakes, suddenly realizing that something was wrong. Even as her car came to a stop, the police cruiser spun out of control, and Regina watched in something akin to horror as it went over the embankment without ever slowing down.

Throwing off her seatbelt, Regina jumped out of her car, rushing over to access the damage. She cursed her high heels as she slipped in her haste, but the words died in her throat as she finally took in the sight below her. Emma's police cruiser was wrapped around a tree, and fire was bursting from the engine. Smoke filled the air.

Before she could fully react to what she was seeing, the passenger door opened and Regina watched as Sidney stumbled out, coughing as he moved away from the car. She noticed that he made no motion to check on the driver and she suddenly saw red.

"Sidney! Where is Emma?" She called to him as he made his way up from the embankment.

He looked at her with a look of utter confusion on his face. "I don't know. Why do you care?"

And before Regina knew what she was doing, she had grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. "She could be injured."

"Don't you want her out of the way?" Sidney asked, as the fire continued to rage and no movement emerged from the driver's side.

"Call 911," Regina hissed at him, even as she shoved him aside and started making her way down the embankment. She swallowed the rest of the rant that she felt building inside of her.

As she moved closer to the car, the heat hit her face and she flashed back to the fire at Town Hall and how Emma had come back to save her. It seemed that she was going to be returning the favor.

Cautiously, she pulled the driver's door open, trying not to burn herself in the process. The metal was hot and the flames were moving closer and closer to the interior of the car. Emma was slumped over the steering column, not moving.

"Emma," Regina called as she took in the scene, trying to figure out how to get the woman out. "Emma, wake up. You have to get out of the car."

But Emma still remained lifeless. The flames burst higher and Regina knew it wouldn't be much longer until they hit the gas line and the whole car went up. "Damn it, Emma." She cursed as she tugged at the seatbelt holding the younger woman in place.

When it finally released, Regina pushed it off the young woman and caught Emma's body as it tumbled towards her. There was a large gash on her forehead, with blood running steadily from it. Regina cursed again and tried to pull the woman out of the car. It wasn't easy, especially in the rain with her heels sinking in the mud, but finally Regina managed to get Emma's body free of the car.

They both tumbled to the ground, the dead weight of the blonde pinning Regina down. She could hear sirens in the distance and was thankful that Sidney had done what she'd told him to, but she knew that she still needed to get Emma away from the car. With the rest of the strength she could muster, she pushed the blonde off of her and stood up, before grabbing hold of the woman's blue leather jacket and dragging her body across the ground. Emma didn't emit so much as a groan of protest.

Just as she got the woman a safe distance away and the fire trucks and ambulance arrived, the car exploded.

**

It didn't take long at all for the news to spread around Storybrooke that Emma had been involved in an accident and that Regina was at the scene when the paramedics arrived. By the time Regina had arrived at the hospital with Sidney, Emma had already been brought in and rushed to surgery and half of the town was assembled in the waiting room.

"Madam Mayor, what is going on? What happened?" Mary Margaret demanded as soon as she saw the woman.

Regina said nothing, her eyes scanning the crowd.

"Regina," David moved closer to her, reaching out and placing a hand on her arm, "can you tell us what happened? All that we know is that Emma was in an accident."

Regina caught sight of Henry, sitting on one of the hard plastic chairs looking lost. She wanted to go to him, but even as she moved forward, he looked up at her with a look so full of contempt it stopped her in her tracks. Of course he was blaming her for this already.

Regina swallowed and refocused on David. "I don't know what happened. I was driving and Em – the sheriff was in the car behind me. I just saw it lose control and go over the embankment. I got to the wreck as quickly as I could. She was unconscious and I pulled her out and dragged her away from the car just before it exploded."

"You dragged her away?" Mary Margaret sounded suspicious.

"Yes." Regina snapped. "Ask Sidney if you don't believe me."

All eyes shifted to Sidney, who nodded. "Regina did pull her out of the car and got her away before it exploded."

"What were you even doing at the scene, Sidney? And why didn't you pull Emma out?" Ruby questioned quickly.

"I was with Regina. She reacted so quickly, I didn't have time to step in. I called 911 while Regina was helping Miss Swan." Sidney lied smoothly. Regina didn't correct him, although her eyes cut over to him angrily.

"What have they said about her?" Regina directed her question at David and Kathryn, the only two in the room who seemed even the least bit hospitable towards her.

"They brought her in before any of us arrived," Kathryn spoke when no one else would. "We've tried talking to the doctors but no one will tell us anything. Emma doesn't have an emergency contact or next of kin listed."

Of course she wouldn't. The woman had never had any family to speak of and moved around so frequently that she didn't have time to form any bonds with anyone. Except that now, here in Storybrooke, she had.

"I'm her next of kin." Henry spoke up for the first time, his voice sounding slightly strained. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Henry," Regina moved toward the boy.

"I'm her son." He said again, staring at Regina as he spoke. "They'll have to tell me."

"Henry," Mary Margaret's voice came from behind Regina, "you're too young to make any medical decisions for her. She's my roommate and my friend. Everyone knows that. I can make those kinds of decisions, okay?"

Henry seemed to acquiesce to this, but Regina was not so quick to allow Mary Margaret to step in. "You are not family," she reminded the woman, "and they won't allow you to make decisions for her if you are not specifically named."

"Dr. Whale will - " Mary Margaret trailed off, not knowing how to finish that sentence, and studiously avoiding David's eyes.

"Dr. Whale will abide by the law." Regina looked pained as she continued. "Henry is correct. He is her only next of kin, and as he is too young to make any medical decisions for her, I – as his mother, legal guardian, and therefore proxy – will make those decisions."

"Like hell you will." Mary Margaret growled, moving into Regina's personal space. For a second, Regina caught a spark of Snow White in the timid teacher's eyes. It almost made her smile. So she was still in there somewhere. That made it even more delicious to realize that she was trapped in such a meek form now. "You'll pull the plug without batting an eyelash."

Regina chuckled mirthlessly. "Really, dear, if I wanted Miss Swan dead, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of pulling her out of that burning car."

Mary Margaret moved as though to hit or grab Regina, but David caught her and pulled her back. "Mary, now isn't the time."

Kathryn moved to stand by Regina. "Regina, please, not now."

Before more could be said, Marco, Archie, and Michael walked in, their faces looking grim.

"Marco? Archie? What is it?" Ruby asked.

Marco sighed. "Michael just got done looking at the police cruiser – or what was left of it, anyway. And he knows what caused the accident."

"Miss Swan's poor driving skills?" Regina asked, although it was more of a statement than anything.

"No." Michael shook his head. "Someone cut her brakes."

Shocked silence settled over the room. Regina was the first to break it. "Are you sure? The car exploded. Perhaps it was just damage from –"

"No." Michael shook his head. "The car was in bad shape, but it was obvious that someone had cut the brakes."

"Who would do something like that?" Ruby's brow furrowed.

"Someone who wanted Emma out of the way." Mary Margaret's eyes were trained on Regina.

"I don't like what you're implying, Miss Blanchard." If looks could kill, Mary Margaret would be dead. "And I especially don't like that you're implying it in front of my son."

"Who else would have any reason to want Emma harmed?"

"Who says that it was Emma they were targeting?"

"She's the sheriff. It was the sheriff's police cruiser. Who else could they possibly be targeting?"

Before Regina could reply, Dr. Whale approached the group, effectively stopping everyone in their tracks.

"Dr. Whale, what's going on with Emma?" Mary Margaret surged forward, her eyes wide and concerned.

Dr. Whale frowned. "I really should be speaking to Miss Swan's next of kin, but –"

"I'm her next of kin." Henry moved forward, his head held up high.

"And I am his mother and therefore proxy." Regina moved to stand behind Henry, placing her hands on his shoulders and trying not to show any pain when he quickly shrugged them off. "You can speak to my son and myself."

"We're all here for Emma," David spoke up from behind Regina. "You can talk to all of us."

Dr. Whale looked from face to face before finally relenting. Regina looked ready to kill and he wasn't about to take her on. "She's out of surgery." Everyone sagged with relief. "But she's not out of the woods yet."

"What's wrong with her?" Henry asked.

"Well, she suffered from blunt force trauma to her head, more than likely from hitting the steering wheel when the car hit the tree. She had a large laceration on her forehead, which we've stitched, but there was also some bleeding from the brain, which is why we had to perform surgery."

Everyone seemed unable to process this news properly. "But she's going to be okay, right? You stopped the bleeding?" Henry asked again.

Dr. Whale smiled sadly at the boy. "I hope so Henry. Right now there's still some swelling on the brain. We're hopeful that it will go down now that we've stopped the bleed, but if it doesn't…" He didn't finish the sentence.

"I want to see her."

"Henry –"

"I want to see my mother!" Henry said again, angrily.

"Right now she's still in recovery, Henry. She's unconscious and it's hard to tell how long she'll be that way. I think it'd be best if you waited until she was awake to see her." Dr. Whale spoke kindly to the boy.

Mary Margaret kneeled down beside him. "How about if I go for now, Henry? I'll watch over her and as soon as she wakes up, I'll come and get you."

"You will do no such thing," Regina moved between the teacher and her son. "If anyone will wait for Miss Swan to wake up, it will be me."

"If you think that I'm letting you in Emma's room by yourself, you're crazy." Mary Margaret shook her head.

"Ladies, please." Dr. Whale intervened. "I will not have this in my patient's room. If you cannot be civil, then neither of you will be allowed in."

Regina narrowed her eyes, but allowed a small nod as she turned and stalked off for Emma's room. Mary Margaret got the room number from Dr. Whale and hurried to beat Regina there.

"Henry, I'm sure that Emma will wake up in no time." David assured the small boy.

"Yeah. And we'll all wait with you until then." Ruby smiled at him.

Henry looked down the hallway and sighed. "Thanks."

**

The only sounds in Emma's room were the beeping of the various machines she was hooked up to and the soft crying coming from Mary Margaret. Emma herself was still and pale, lying in the hospital bed. Her chest was rising and falling, but Regina couldn't even hear her breathing. The heart monitor's steady beeps were the only thing reminding her that Emma really was alive.

It was disconcerting to see the young woman so still. Regina was used to Emma being in constant motion, always moving, always alert. She kept flashing back to Emma's body in the car, how lifeless it had been then and how lifeless it seemed now. That did not jive with the image of Emma Swan that she had in her head.

She and Mary Margaret had not spoken a word since they arrived in the room. The teacher had pulled a chair over to the side of the bed, took hold of Emma's hand, and began crying almost immediately. Regina had stood at the foot of the bed for a long while, just taking in Emma before she'd finally settled in another chair, farther away from the bed.

She had never cared for Emma Swan, that much was true, and she had wished her gone many, many times since the blonde had arrived in Storybrooke, but Regina had never wished it in this way. She'd simply wanted the woman to leave town, like she so often did, to leave Regina in peace with the life that she had built from nothing – the life that would be her happy ending. _Be careful what you wish for_. The words floated through her mind in a voice that could only belong to Mr. Gold.

Regina shuddered and pushed them away. Emma Swan would be fine and would once again come off looking like the hero, while the whole town vilified Regina for something that she hadn't done. There were ways to deal with the blonde, but cutting her brakes was certainly not one, and Regina planned to make sure Sidney was well aware of that just as soon as Emma woke up. He had done something without her permission, something that burned Regina to no end. He worked for her and no one else. She would see to it that he remembered that fact and his place.

A muffled groan from the bed broke through her thoughts and Regina watched as Mary Margaret's head flew up. "Emma?" She asked, sounding so hopeful that Regina winced.

The groan came again, along with a fluttering of dark lashes and Mary Margaret was up out of her seat, rushing for Dr. Whale.

Regina stood and moved closer to the bed, watching as Emma forced her eyes open and moaned at the light. Her hand came up to her forehead and she swore as it came in contact with the bandage that covered the gash. "Shit."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Lovely language, Miss Swan."

Emma's eyes opened again and she took in the sight of Regina. Her brow furrowed, causing her to wince and frown deeper. "Ugh, damn. I feel like I got hit in the head with a…" she trailed off, her eyes going wide.

Mary Margaret strode back into the room, Dr. Whale at her heels.

"Oh, man, he didn't really hit me with that 2 by 4, did he?" She asked.

"What?" Mary Margaret moved over to the side of the bed, confusion and worry on her face.

"The guy. What was his name? Will something. William… William… something. I never thought he'd actually hit me, though."

"Emma, what are you talking about?" Mary Margaret asked.

"The guy that hit me. That's why I'm here right? My head is killing me."

"Emma, do you know where you are?" Dr. Whale asked.

"In the hospital." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Why do you think you're in the hospital?"

Emma sighed in frustration. "I was chasing this guy, William. He grabbed a 2 by 4 and threatened to swing it at me. I assumed he was just bluffing, but apparently not."

"Where did this happen, Emma?" Dr. Whale asked, pulling out a small pocket flashlight.

"Boston, of course." Emma blinked against the light that Dr. Whale was shining into her eyes.

Mary Margaret looked concerned, but Regina just rolled her eyes. "Enough with the game playing, Miss Swan."

Emma looked over at Regina. "What game playing? Who are you?"

"Emma, do you know who I am?" Mary Margaret asked, ignoring Regina.

"A nurse, I guess."

"Emma, it's me. Mary Margaret." Emma's face was blank as she looked at her roommate.

"I – do I know you?"

"Oh for god's sake." Regina sighed. "That's quite enough, Miss Swan."

Emma turned over to glare at Regina. "What is your problem?"

Before Regina could answer, the door burst open and Henry rushed in, followed closely by David. "Emma!" He grinned widely, flinging himself on her bed and hugging her tightly.

"Whoa, whoa, kid, slow down." Emma pushed him back away from her.

"You see. She might play games with us, but with Henry –" Regina waved her hand at the scene, but she stopped cold as she took in the scene before her. Emma was looking at Henry with absolutely no recognition.

"Emma, I knew you'd be okay. You had to be." Henry grinned, still not noticing that Emma appeared not to recognize him.

"I'm sorry, kid, but – do I know you?"

Henry's face scrunched as he looked at her. "Emma, it's me, Henry."

Regina moved over to stand beside Henry. "I'm serious, Miss Swan. You need to stop this, now. Whatever anger you have toward me, whatever you believe about me and what I've done, we can deal with it later. But I will not allow you to upset my son with your little game."

"I'm not your son." Henry pulled away. "I'm Emma's!"

"Wait – what?" Emma's eyes were wide. "I – I don't have a kid."

"Emma, what month and year do you think it is?" Dr. Whale cut in.

"January 2011." Emma rattled off easily, her eyes still focused on Henry. "What do you mean you're my son?"

"Emma, don't you remember?" Henry's lip was quivering.

"Enough, Miss Swan!" Regina was practically screaming.

"Look, lady, I don't know who the fuck you are," Emma snapped, "I don't know who any of you are, or who you think I am, but I've never seen any of you before, and I certainly don't have a kid."

"Alright," Dr. Whale said loudly, "everyone needs to leave the room, right now."

"Emma?" Henry moved towards her, still unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Henry, come on." Regina reached from him, but he pulled away from her.

"Emma, please." He was practically begging.

"Henry," Mary Margaret tried, gently grasping his shoulders and moving him away, "I'm sure that Emma's just confused right now. She's still waking up. Let's just give her a minute."

Regina stared at Emma, trying to read her. There was absolutely no recognition on her face, and while she knew that Emma might try to punish her, even at Mary Margaret's expense, the sheriff would never do anything to hurt Henry. As much as she could point out Emma's flaws, she had never doubted Emma's love for Henry. The woman honestly didn't remember her son. She turned on her heel and marched out of the room, feelings swirling inside of her that she couldn't get under control.  



	2. Chapter 2

Emma waited until everyone was out of the room before she turned to Dr. Whale. "Was what he said true?"

"Emma –"

"Is he my son?"

"What do you remember?" Dr. Whale asked.

"Look, I know that I – I know that I had a child. I remember that. But I just – I haven't thought about him in years and now suddenly he's standing in front of me? Is he really mine?"

"I think right now you need to rest. Hopefully by the morning, things will start to come back to you."

Emma grabbed Dr. Whale's arm and looked at him. "Just tell me the truth. Is he my son?"

"Yes." Dr. Whale told her, untangling his arm from her grip and shooting something into her IV. "That should help you sleep."

"And the brunette that was with him – that was his mother?"

"Emma, you need to rest. We can discuss this more in the morning."

Emma tried to protest, but her eyelids were already heavy. Dr. Whale waited until she finally stopped fighting sleep before he left the room.

**

"How is she?" Marco asked as soon as the four came back into the waiting room.

"Henry, what's wrong?" Archie leaned down, seeing Henry's upset look.

"She doesn't remember me." The boy whispered, fighting back tears.

"What?"

"She doesn't remember. She thinks that it's January of last year and that she's in Boston." Mary Margaret also sounded tearful as she spoke.

"What does that mean? Will she ever remember?"

"I'm sure she will." David spoke quickly. "I did, after all."

Kathryn smiled and Mary Margaret looked even more pained at his words.

Dr. Whale emerged from Emma's room, his face drawn.

"Dr. Whale," Mary Margaret breathed, "how is she?"

"Tired. And confused. She believes that it's 2011 and she's still living in Boston. She's got no recollection of her time here in Storybrooke." Dr. Whale looked at David. "As Mr. Nolan knows, sometimes head trauma like Miss Swan suffered can lead to amnesia. I'm hopeful that with a good night's rest, the swelling will continue to go down and her memories will return. I've ordered a CAT scan in the morning if that's not the case."

"So you're sure that she's got amnesia, and she isn't just faking?" Regina asked.

"She's not faking it!" Henry turned on Regina, angry tears slipping down his cheeks. "Emma wouldn't do something like that! She would never hurt me."

"Henry," Regina started, "I just want to be sure that –"

"This is all your fault! I know you cut her brakes. I know you did this. You're the only one who doesn't want Emma here."

"Henry, I would never do anything that would hurt you." Regina told him softly.

Henry continued to cry. "You want to keep me from her. You're probably happy she's hurt." And then the boy turned and took off at a run.

"I'll go." David assured Regina, starting out after the boy, while Regina looked on, a hurt look on her face. Kathryn moved over and squeezed her arm.

"He's just upset, Regina. He doesn't mean that."

Regina smiled sadly. "Oh, but he does."

Before anyone else could react, Dr. Whale cleared his throat to break the tension.

"What will happen with Emma now?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I gave her a sedative to help her sleep and she's resting comfortably. She's still very confused. She doesn't remember any of her time in Storybrooke and having it presented to her so quickly…" Dr. Whale shook his head. "For now she needs rest most of all. I'd suggest that all of you go home and get some rest too. We won't know anything else until the morning."

"I'm going to stay with her." Mary Margaret told everyone. "I don't want her to be alone."

No one argued, not even Regina whose eyes were still focused on the hallway that Henry had run down. They all offered hugs and words of support to Mary Margaret, while soliciting promises to call if she needed anything or there was any news before leaving the hospital.

Mary Margaret headed for Emma's room and Dr. Whale left to do his rounds, leaving only Regina and Sidney still in the waiting room.

"Madam Mayor –" Sidney started, but Regina spun on him.

"You cut her brakes?"

"I never thought –"

"You're right that you didn't think, Sidney. Because you obviously have no functioning brain cells in that head of yours. Not only did you cut her brakes, but you did so while you were in the car. You both could've been killed! You should've been, for doing something this stupid."

"I didn't expect the accident to be as bad as it was. I figured she would just skid off the road, and I could discover that her brakes had been cut."

"And blame it on me?" Regina's voice was icy.

"It would've played perfectly into our plan."

"Oh, yes, it would've. But instead, Miss Swan was seriously injured, everyone thinks it was me who cut her brakes, and Henry hates me even more now than he did before."

"I'm terribly sorry, Madam Mayor."

"Get out of my sight now, Sidney, or you will wish that you had."

Sidney practically ran from Regina's side, eager to get away from her wrath before she filleted him right there in the waiting room. He knew from the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice that he'd gotten off easy. Still, he'd be looking over his shoulders from now on, even more frequently than he had before. Regina was right, the plan had had flaws - but if it had worked the way he intended, things would've been even better. Why couldn't she see that? And why did she care what happened to Emma Swan one way or the other? Surely Emma not remembering was to Regina's advantage.

Regina watched him go, her blood boiling. She only regretted that she'd never had a chance to remove the genie's heart before he'd been trapped in her mirror. If she had, it would be dust by now. She knew she shouldn't have trusted Sidney not to screw this up. Now everything was ruined.

She turned on her heel, marching down the hall to Emma's room. She peered inside to find Mary Margaret sitting vigil next to the sleeping blonde, just like she had for David all those endless days and nights of his coma. Henry, however, was no where to be seen, and so Regina moved on, trying her best to ignore the image of the woman - her enemy - looking so small in the hospital bed.

**

Dr. Whale ran a battery of tests on Emma the next morning and it became clear that although she did have amnesia, she had no other ill effects from the head injury. She could walk and talk with no difficulty. She passed all of the cognitive tests with flying colors. There was no lasting damage that anyone could find from the brain bleed and swelling besides the fact that she'd lost a year of her life.

Dr. Whale explained all of this to Mary Margaret just outside Emma's hospital room after the last round of test results came in.

"Will she ever remember?" Mary Margaret thought of Henry and how crushed he'd looked the night before.

"It's nearly impossible to say. She could be like Mr. Nolan and have something trigger her memories, or they could be lost forever."

"So what do I do?"

"I want to keep her here over night, make sure that there are no other side effects from the surgery that we may have missed. If all goes well, I'll release her tomorrow. From there, it's really up to Emma." Dr. Whale reached out and placed a comforting hand on Mary Margaret's shoulder. She forced herself not to shrug it off. He was just trying to be supportive.

"Storybrooke may have been her home before the accident, but she doesn't remember it. She remembers her life in Boston. And we know that before that, she was a bit of a drifter."

"What are you saying?" Mary Margaret's voice raised.

"I just want you to be prepared, in case Emma decides that she doesn't want to stay here in Storybrooke. I know that you two are close. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Mary Margaret shook her head. "Emma will stay. She may not remember this place, but her connection with Henry was real. Even if she doesn't remember, she'll feel it. She won't leave him behind."

Dr. Whale just sighed and let his hand slip down from her arm. "I have to go make my rounds. I'll be back to check on Emma later."

Mary Margaret watched him go, shaking off his words before turning back to the hospital room and her best friend who no longer knew who she was.

**

Henry was halfway to the hospital when the black Mercedes pulled up beside him.

"And where do you think you're going?" Regina called out the window to him.

Henry glanced over at her briefly before refocusing on the road. "To the hospital to see my mom."

The words cut, just like he knew they would. Just like they always did.

"And where are you supposed to be?" Regina questioned, still driving slowly along side him.

Henry stopped and turned toward her, anger and tears shining in his eyes. "I'm supposed to be with my mom, but you took me away from her!"

Regina jammed the car into park. "Henry."

Henry took off at a run, but he didn't get very far at all until he plowed into someone.

"Woah, where you going in such a hurry, Henry?" David asked, looking down at the little boy.

"To the hospital. I have to go." Henry turned pleading eyes on David, but David's hands came to his shoulders, keeping him in place. David's eyes were on Regina, who had climbed out of the Mercedes and was walking quickly toward them. "Please, Mr. Nolan."

David knelt down so that he was level with Henry. "I was just at the hospital, Henry, and I don't think now would be the best time for you to go visit."

"Why? What's wrong? What's happening with Emma?" Henry looked panicked and Regina looked slightly concerned too, although for Emma or Henry he couldn't tell.

"Nothing's wrong." David assured quickly. "All the tests they've run have come back negative for any problems or complications. Everything seems to be okay, as far as Dr. Whale can tell."

"Then why can't I go visit?"

David sighed softly. "Henry, Emma still doesn't have her memory back. And she's sort of overwhelmed right now, trying to take everything in. I know how much you care about her and how much you want her to get better and to remember. And that's a good thing, it really is. But speaking from experience, I know how difficult it can be, not remembering things that other people remember. And sometimes it's harder to have people around you who want you to remember so much, because when you don't, then you feel like you're letting them down. Do you understand?"

Henry's brow furrowed. "I think so, but -"

"Mary Margaret is still with her and Dr. Whale said that if all goes well tonight, he's going to release her tomorrow. I think once she gets out of the hospital and gets settled down a little, then would be a good time to go see her. But for right now I think Emma just needs time and space."

"Henry," Regina finally spoke up, reaching down and touching Henry's shoulder, "I think Mr. Nolan is right. Miss Swan needs some time to recover. If she is released tomorrow, you may go see her then."

Henry spun to look at her with suspicion in his eyes. "You swear?"

Regina sighed. "Yes, Henry, I swear. I'll take you myself. But for now, you need to get in the car and come home with me."

Henry looked between Regina and David, still looking conflicted, before he finally moved towards the car. He didn't speak as he climbed in the passenger side and it was obvious he was pouting.

Regina turned back to David. "Thank you, Mr. Nolan."

"It's David, Regina." He smiled at her. "And you're welcome."

"She still doesn't remember?" Regina questioned.

"Nothing from the past year."

Regina nodded and then said her goodbyes, moving to climb back in the car with her son who was still not speaking to her.  



	3. Chapter 3

Emma glanced around the small room that the brunette - Mary Margaret - had led her to.

"I know that it isn't much but -"

Emma felt like they'd probably had this conversation before, if she'd been living there as Mary Margaret and Dr. Whale and seemingly everyone else in town had told her.

When they'd arrived at the apartment, Ruby and Granny had been waiting with a casserole. A few minutes later, Archie and Marco had stopped by, Marco carrying a crock pot full of soup that his wife had made. Michael, the mechanic who had looked nervous and guilty every time she looked at him, and his twin children had brought gingerbread cookies, shaped into rough forms by the twin hands not long after. David and Kathryn had also come, bringing all sorts of sandwich fixings with them. Emma began to wonder if Mary Margaret was as incapable of cooking as she was, or if people just always brought around food in circumstances such as these.

Whatever these circumstances were. Emma still couldn't grasp exactly what was going on. How had she gone from living in Boston on her own, without family or friends to speak of - by her own doing - to apparently having forged relationships with all of the people in this town? The more that she spoke with them, the more confused she became. She had not only decided to stick around the town, but had made friends and become the sheriff? Emma felt certain that she'd missed a key point in this story, because never in a million years would she have pictured something like this happening to her.

Also missing from the bevy of people who had been by to visit were the two people who Emma believed probably held the key to the whole thing - Henry and the brunette who had been so snappy in her hospital room. She'd gotten a name - Regina - and a title - mayor - but that was all. It had been obvious that the woman wasn't exactly on the best terms with Emma - and Emma couldn't really blame her for that if she had shown up out of the blue in the boy's life. But she had assumed, with the way that the kid reacted in the hospital, that they would be here. It seemed that she was once again mistaken.

"It's fine. Really." Emma smiled disarmingly at the brunette. It was a small room, but there was something about it that Emma liked. Besides, she wasn't planning on using it for long anyway. As far as she was aware, there was an apartment and a life - such as it was - back in Boston, and Emma intended to go back to both.

"And I'm sorry about everyone showing up. I'm sure it was overwhelming for you." The brunette looked concerned, almost motherly. Emma had been thinking of her that way ever since she first woke up in the hospital.

"It was -" Emma frowned and then nodded. "It was weird. I'm not used to - in Boston, there are maybe two people who know my name, and I'm fine with that. I like that. But here - everyone seems to know me and I don't know them. I don't even think I know the Emma they're talking about because she just doesn't seem anything like me."

Mary Margaret reached out and squeezed Emma's arm. "I know this is hard. And I know it's a big adjustment. It was when you first got here too. But I know that everything will work out. Everything will come back to you, just like it did with David. Things will be fine."

Emma swallowed and went for the easy joke. "Yeah, and what's with that anyway? Two amnesiacs in town in the course of a couple months? What are you guys putting in the water?"

Mary Margaret allowed her a smile, although it looked forced, even to Emma.

"Why don't you lie down for a while? I have a feeling that come 4 o'clock, there's going to be a very concerned ten year old knocking on my door. Unless you want me to tell him you’re not up for seeing him yet?"

Emma nearly took the out that Mary Margaret was offering her. It would be so easy. Just say she still wasn't feeling well and needed to sleep. Avoid the kid for another day or two and then take off and never have to really face up to him and the fact that she'd given him up and all the emotions that came with that - emotions that she'd buried years ago. But apparently she'd already faced up to it once, and she could see the worry in Mary Margaret's eyes, not for Emma but for Henry if she had to turn him away.

"No, don't do that. I'll crash for a bit and then I'll talk to the kid." And for some reason that made Mary Margaret smile. "Will you make sure I'm awake by 4?"

"Of course." Mary Margaret squeezed her arm again and then left the small room, pulling the door behind her and leaving Emma to her very muddled and confused thoughts.

**

Mary Margaret had been right. At exactly 4:00, a knock sounded on the door. Emma moved to open it and was bombarded by a hug.

"Emma!" Henry exclaimed, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and burying his head in her stomach.

Emma was glad she'd had her feet firmly planted, or she was sure she would've been knocked over by the force of the hug.

"Hey, kid." She said awkwardly, her eyes searching the hallway for any signs of Regina or possibly a father figure with the kid. "Where's your mom?"

Henry looked up at her, confused. "You're right here."

Emma bristled a bit and rolled her eyes. "Kid, I mean your mom, not me."

"But you are my mom." Henry argued.

"Henry." Mary Margaret's voice came from the kitchen area and Henry frowned just a bit.

"She's at work, I guess." He shrugged.

"Does she know that you're here?" Emma asked, untangling herself from him.

"I guess so."

Emma spotted the lie easily. "Henry, your mother doesn't know where you are. She's going to be worried."

"No, she won't." Henry denied. "Besides, she told me that I could come see you today. She told me that she'd even bring me herself."

"Then why didn't you wait for her to do that?"

"Because she was probably lying. And because I didn't want to have to wait to see you. She would've just tried to keep me away."

Emma sighed and moved over to the couch. "Do you talk like this to her?" Emma asked him, looking him up and down.

"Like what?" Henry climbed up next to her, still not understanding where Emma was going with this particular line of questioning. She was his mom, even if she didn't remember the last year, she did remember having him. So he didn't understand why she was so concerned about how he talked to Regina.

"Calling me your mom? Saying she wouldn't worry about you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Henry," Emma looked shocked. "I'm not your mom. Not the same way that she is. I gave birth to you but she - she raised you. That's got to hurt her, to hear you saying those things."

Henry just shook his head. "Nothing can hurt her. She doesn't have a heart."

"What?"

"Henry -" Mary Margaret cautioned from the kitchen.

"She's the Evil Queen, Emma."

Emma felt pressure behind her eyes begin to build at Henry's words and she brought her fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "What are you talking about, kid?"

"Henry, I don't think now is the best time to -" Mary Margaret started, moving towards them, but Henry continued on.

"I know you don't remember, but she's The Evil Queen. All the fairy tales are real and she cursed everyone from that land and made them all come here, only they don't remember who they really are. This town has been cursed ever since then. But I know the truth and I came to find you, because you're the only one who can break the spell. You're the savior."

With each word, Emma's headache increased.

"Henry, Emma is still recovering. I know you believe these things, but right now I think it's best if we let them go for a while." Mary Margaret said gently, yet firmly.

Emma looked up at her. "You know about all this?"

"Miss Blanchard is the one who gave me the book."

"What book?"

"The book that proves that this is all true!"

"Okay." Emma sighed. "So where is this book?"

Henry shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I think she stole it when she tore down my castle. She knew we were getting close to figuring out the truth."

"So what you're saying…" Emma's head was pounding more and more with every word and her vision was beginning to blur slightly, "is that somewhere out there, there's a book that proves that everyone in this town is actually from some fairy tale world, but your mother stole it because she's the Evil Queen who trapped everyone here. And I'm some kind of savior that can end the curse and… what? Bring back happily ever after?"

A huge smile split Henry's face. "See! I knew you'd remember. I knew her plan wouldn't work."

"What plan?"

"Her plan to kill you by cutting the brakes in your car."

"Henry!" Mary Margaret's voice was shrill and louder than Emma had ever heard it - and although that hadn't been much, she assumed that the woman typically did not speak like that. Her eyes flew to the woman's face and she could see the truth there, at least about her brakes being cut.

She'd only been told that there had been a car accident - that her car had skidded on the wet road and wrecked into a tree. No one had mentioned that her brakes had been cut.

"Someone cut my brakes?"

"Yes, she did!"

Mary Margaret sighed. "Michael looked at your car after the volunteer firefighters got the fire out. He thinks someone cut them - but Emma, the car exploded and it's very hard to tell if -"

The headache got worse and blackness started creeping along the edges of her vision. Emma flung up her hand to stop any further talking.

"Okay. Here's what's going to happen now. I'm going upstairs to take some pain meds and lay down. You," she pointed at Henry, "are going to sit here and do your homework without complaint. And you," she motioned toward Mary Margaret, "are going to supervise him. Once my head stops feeling like it's going to split open, I am taking the kid back home. Are we clear?"

Henry and Mary Margaret both nodded.

"Emma, do you need me to call Dr. Whale to see -"

"What I need," Emma interrupted, "is to take some pain pills and lay down for a bit. And for no one to talk about curses or fairy tales or people cutting my brakes for a while. Okay?"

"Okay."

Emma climbed the stairs, leaving behind two concerned people who were watching her every move.

**

Once she had swallowed the pain pills that Dr. Whale gave her, Emma collapsed on her bed, closing her eyes to block out everything. But she couldn't get the kid's words out of her head. Her brakes had been cut.

Emma remembered the way that Michael hadn't been able to look at her and had seemed nervous when he'd been at the house earlier. He'd known then, and hadn't wanted to tell her. Someone in this town had wanted her dead. That, in and of itself wasn't that uncommon. She'd been in some pretty nasty scrapes in her life, pissed off a lot of people and gotten more death threats than she could count. But here, in this little town where everyone seemed to know and like her, it felt a little strange. Someone here apparently hated her enough to cut her brakes and Henry seemed to believe it was his mother - The Evil Queen.

Emma tried her best not to think about the implications of that, but she couldn't seem to stop. The kid not only believed in fairy tales, which was fine for a kid his age, although was usually more for girls than boys, but he believed that everyone in the town was a fairy tale character, trapped by a curse. That went beyond imagination into a realm that Emma wasn't sure she wanted to think about.

Was that why she had stayed in the town? Because the kid seemed delusional? Had she thought she could help in some way? Henry acted like she'd believed everything and had been well on her way to breaking the curse, but Emma knew herself better than that. She wouldn't have believed him then, just like she didn't believe him now. So why then, had she stayed?

And was the kid right? Did his mother not care about him? Did she want Emma dead? She'd seemed pretty pissed at Emma in the hospital, but it was only because Emma was upsetting Henry. And Mary Margaret had admitted that Regina was the one who had pulled her out of the burning car. So if the plan was to kill Emma, why would she have played the hero?

Nothing at all about this place made sense, and the more distorted things got, the more determined Emma was to go back to Boston and forget about this place entirely. It wouldn't be that difficult after all - a year of memories had already been wiped. She could easily erase the townspeople she'd met only once or twice, just like she erased every other insignificant person she came across in her line of work. Forgetting about people was easy for Emma, far easier than trying to remember them and forming bonds. The only person who would really give her pause was the kid, but she was so used to burying thoughts of him, that it shouldn't take long before he faded too.

With that resolution in place and the pain meds finally kicking in and easing her headache, Emma allowed herself to succumb to sleep.

**

An hour later, Emma's alarm went off. She groaned and thought about hitting the snooze, but remembered that she'd left Henry downstairs with Mary Margaret and begrudgingly got out of bed. At least the searing pain in her head had disappeared with sleep, leaving only the dull ache that she'd been feeling since she woke up in the hospital behind.

She stumbled into the bathroom, taking in her reflection in the mirror. The stitches across the jagged mark on her forehead stood out angrily. The white bandage that was still on the right side of her head above her temple drew even more attention to the fact that they'd had to shave some of her hair away to perform the surgery to stop the bleed. She frowned as she tried to adjust her hair to cover the now bald spot, but couldn't seem to make it work. With a sigh, she turned away. This was as good as it was going to get. And why did she care what she looked like when she took the kid home anyway? She'd had brain surgery. If anyone said anything about her appearance, they could go to hell.

She descended the steps to find Henry and Mary Margaret both sitting on the couch, watching television. They both looked over to her as she came down, but neither spoke. Emma had to smile a little. It seemed that they had learned their lesson.

"Is your homework finished?" Emma grasped onto the one motherly thing she could think to say.

Henry nodded quickly. "Miss Blanchard even checked it for me when I finished."

"Good." Emma offered him a smile. "Then that means that it's time for me to take you home."

Henry let out a groan. "Oh, Emma, please, can't I stay with you just a little longer?"

Emma felt a pang at his pleading, a shot of guilt for sleeping when the kid was here to see her, but if she hadn't, she was sure she would've passed out. Besides, this was just another reason why she wasn't meant to be anyone's mother. She thought of herself before she thought of anyone else, just like she'd always had to.

"Sorry kid, but your mom is probably already having a fit. Let's go."

"Can I come over tomorrow?" Henry asked, already picking up his backpack.

Emma chewed her lip. "We'll see."

Henry beamed. He took her answer as a validation, even though it certainly hadn't been one.

"Will you be okay getting to Regina's?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma hadn't been cleared to drive yet, so they would have to walk. She nodded. "I'm sure Henry knows the way. We'll be fine."

"I could drive you, if you wanted."

Emma shook her head. "I think the fresh air will do me some good. But thanks."

"Be careful." Mary Margaret called after them as they headed out the door, and Emma couldn't help but think that she was cautioning about more than just the walk to the mayor's house.

**

Regina wasn't waiting on the front porch when they arrived, but she did answer the door before Emma could even finish knocking. Although she schooled herself quickly, Emma saw the relief flash across her eyes when she took in Henry, as well as some other emotion that looked like a mix between rage and fear. But just as quickly as they'd appeared in her eyes, they were gone and she was presented with a poker face that gave nothing away.

Emma had no idea what to say in this situation, and Henry certainly wasn't helping, too intent on staring at his shoes and not looking at his mother to offer any words of apology or explanation.

Emma looked at Regina and offered her what she hoped with an apologetic smile. "Madam Mayor, I'm sorry I kept Henry so long, but I needed to lay down for a little while. His homework is all finished and Mary Margaret checked it for him, so it should be good to go. I really hope I didn't hold you up from your dinner. I figured you'd want him to eat with you, so I didn't make anything."

Regina looked Emma up and down. Although she looked the same as she always had, there was a definite difference too. All the bravado was gone and replaced with a woman who looked as though she felt awkward standing there, unsure of herself and what she was doing. Regina was taken back to that first night when Emma had brought Henry home and how awkward she'd been then too, before her determination to be a part of Henry's life and her belief that Regina was as evil as Henry claimed had kicked in.

"It's alright, Sheriff Swan," Regina conceded and watched as Emma's face scrunched at her title. "Thank you for bringing him home and seeing that his homework was done. Henry, go wash up for dinner, please."

Henry eyed Regina and Emma for a long moment, his feet firmly planted. Emma scowled slightly. "Henry, your mother asked you do something."

Henry sighed and moved into the house, but not before hugging Emma tightly. Emma patted his back and then pushed him toward the house and his mother. Once his heavy footsteps were heard on the stairs, Regina turned back to look at Emma who still stood on the porch, looking lost.

"Can I ask you something?" Emma began.

"Of course, Miss Swan. Would you like to come in?" Regina stepped aside as though to allow Emma space to enter. "I'd offer you some of my apple cider, but I have a feeling Dr. Whale wouldn't appreciate it if I did."

Emma smiled. "No, he's not letting me have any fun right now. And thank you for the offer, but it's just a quick question and then I'll let you get back to Henry."

"Alright."

Emma licked her lips and looked at the mayor, deciding just to be blunt and ask the question. "Henry seems to think - well, a lot of things, really - but what concerns me most is that he thinks that you're the one who cut the brakes in my car."

Regina looked surprised at Emma's words, but didn't say anything. Emma wondered if she was surprised that Henry thought her capable of something like that or if she was surprised that he'd told Emma his suspicions.

"So forgive me, Madam Mayor, but I just need to ask, did you cut the brakes in my car?"

Regina could've let her anger get the best of her, but she managed to tamp it down and look Emma in the eye as she answered with one word. "No."

Emma nodded. Regina was telling the truth. "Can I ask a follow up question?"

Regina smirked. "Are we in a courtroom, Miss Swan? Have you suddenly become a lawyer?"

Regina expected Emma to become defensive and strike out at her verbally, but instead the blonde laughed. "Stranger things have been happening lately." She shrugged. "If you didn't cut my brakes, did you ask or hire someone else to do it for you?"

Regina shook her head. "I assure you, Miss Swan, that I was just as surprised as I'm sure you were to find that your brakes had been tampered with. I would normally have our sheriff start an investigation into the matter, however at the moment I am unable to do so."

"Because I'm the sheriff." Emma ran a hand over her face. "Or was."

Regina just inclined her head. Emma shoved her hands into her pockets and offered another small smile at the mayor. "Well, um, thanks. For answering the questions and not getting offended by them. I just - wanted to be sure. Um, I do have one more thing to ask you, and then I promise that I'll leave you to your dinner."

Regina quirked an eyebrow.

"I'd like to see Henry tomorrow, if you don't mind. I need to talk to him about a few things. I think it'd be best if we did it here. I could come over once he gets home from school, if you're okay with that."

Regina took in the blonde and found herself again wondering how things might have gone if she hadn't lashed out so quickly and held on to Henry so tightly when Emma first appeared. Her gut reaction was always to keep what was hers and protect it at any cost, and she had been unwilling to allow this interloper to try and take her son. Now though, she could see Emma Swan through slightly new eyes, and it was an interesting observation if nothing else.

"That would be acceptable."

Emma smiled again. "Thanks. And look - I don't know what our… relationship was like before my accident. I don't even know why I stuck around this town, frankly. But I just want you to know that whatever happened before, I can promise you that I'm not here to try to take your son or - I don't even know what else might be going through your head, but I'm not here for any of that. I just need to talk to him tomorrow and then I'll be out of your hair."

Emma turned and left before Regina could reply. She watched the blonde walk away and wondered if what she had said was true this time. Would Emma really leave?  



	4. Chapter 4

"How did it go?" Mary Margaret asked when Emma walked back into the apartment.

The table was set and all of the food that had been delivered was spread out on the table. Emma snagged a cookie and ate it, ignoring Mary Margaret's reproachful look.

"It went fine. I dropped the kid off, asked Regina about my brakes, and left."

"You asked her about cutting your brakes?"

Emma nodded as she settled down and began filling her plate.

"And what did she say?"

"That she didn't do it. And that she didn't hire anyone else to."

"And you believe her?" Mary Margaret tried to keep the question as neutral as possible, but Emma could hear her skepticism.

"Yes. It's like my superpower. I can tell when people are lying to me. And Regina wasn't lying to me." Emma studied Mary Margaret. "But you thought she'd done it too, didn't you?"

"You and Regina aren't exactly on the best terms. There's everything with Henry and you beating her candidate for sheriff. There's just a lot of bad blood. And Regina can be ruthless when she wants to be."

Emma took a bite of her sandwich. "Well whatever she may or may not be, she didn't cut my brakes."

They ate in silence for a while and Emma had to admit that if nothing else, the people of Storybrooke sure knew how to cook. Maybe that was why she had stayed?

Finally, after her plate was cleared, she brought up the question that had been nagging at her mind. "So, this idea Henry has about the town and the curse… where did that come from?"

Mary Margaret sighed. "He's a lonely little boy. He doesn't have any friends at school really. But he's got such an active imagination. So I gave him a book of fairy tales to read and… that's how it all started."

"And I supposedly believed all this too?"

Mary Margaret smiled. "I think you were humoring him, like we all do. Well, all except Regina. She doesn't like Henry's theory."

"Can't say I blame her. She's the evil one according to him. I wouldn't like it either. Plus, it's one thing to believe in fairy tales, but another to believe that the whole town is cursed and everyone is a fairy tale character. That's not normal, Mary Margaret."

"I know. And Regina's been sending Henry to Dr. Hopper to try and nip everything in the bud, but ever since he found you…" Mary Margaret smiled softly, "you gave him hope."

Emma shook her head and took her dishes to the sink. Then she turned back and looked at Mary Margaret again. "Do you think Regina is a bad mother to Henry?"

The teacher looked shocked by the question and didn't seem to know how to answer it. "I - I mean -"

"Mary Margaret, I need you to tell me the truth here. Do you think she's a bad mom?"

"She can be very strict with him, which I know upsets Henry."

Emma shook her head. "Not what I asked."

"She isn't exactly a touchy feely person either."

Again Emma shook her head. "Mary Margaret, do you think Regina would ever purposely hurt Henry?"

Mary Margaret frowned. "No. Of course not."

"Do you think he's right and that she doesn't care about him?"

"No."

"Has Henry ever come to school with bruises or gone hungry or not had a steady place to live or clothes that he needed?"

"No. No. Emma, why are you asking this?"

"Because I want to know if Regina is a good mother. And you just answered my question." Emma turned to go upstairs.

"Emma, those things don't necessarily make her a good mother. And just because you gave him up, it doesn't make you a bad mother." Mary Margaret called after her.

Emma turned and looked down at the brunette. "No, it doesn't. It doesn't make me a mother at all. And maybe you're right and those things don't make a good mother, but they make a better one than I ever had, and that's all I ever wanted for him."

"Emma -"

"I'm going up to bed. I have an appointment with Dr. Whale in the morning, and I want to be well rested. Dinner was really good. Thanks again for everything."

"Of course." Mary Margaret replied to Emma's retreating back, a frown settling on her face.

**

Dr. Whale removed the bandage over the hole they'd had to drill above her temple to cut off the artery that had been bleeding into her brain. He examined the wound and the staples holding it together, nodding and mumbling under his breath as he did so. Emma tried hard not to fidget.

"Everything appears to be healing up nicely, Emma. The swelling of the brain has gone down completely, which is a great sign, and none of the tests we've run show any signs of any other bleeds or problems. I think it's safe to say that the bleed was caused by the head injury from your accident and that we repaired it successfully."

"Does that mean that I'm cleared to drive?"

Dr. Whale frowned. "Not just yet. I'd still like to track your recovery and see you a few more times before I release you to drive." He looked at his patient, who looked crestfallen at his answer. "Why do you ask, Emma?"

Emma sighed and looked up at him. "I know you said that this memory stuff could just be temporary and I could wake up tomorrow and remember everything but - so far it hasn't happened. I don't remember this town, I don't remember anyone in it, and frankly, Dr. Whale, I don't have any reason to stay here."

"Henry is -"

"Henry is Regina's son, not mine. And I don't know why I was staying here before, but… for my own sanity, I need to go back to Boston. That's where my life is. Not here."

"Are you sure you want to make a change this big right now?"

"It's not a change for me, Dr. Whale. It's what I know. I feel uncomfortable here, with everyone staring at me, waiting for me to remember when you and I both know that chances are, I won't. I know that I'll recover better in Boston than I will here. So please, can't you release me to drive?"

Dr. Whale sighed. "I can't do that. Not today. Come back in a week and if everything is going well with the recovery, and if you promise to continue to see a doctor in Boston for follow up visits, then I will release you."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "Really? One more week and I'm free to leave?"

"As long as you seek medical help in Boston."

"Deal." Emma shook his hand for fair measure.

**

Emma stood on the porch of the mayor's house, taking in the sight of it. It was large and imposing, to be sure, but Emma thought it also looked like it could be a warm and inviting home at times. It was comforting to know, at least, that Henry had grown up in a place like this, where there was plenty of room for him and where he had obviously never known poverty.

Emma had questioned Mary Margaret a bit more this morning, finding out that it was just Regina raising Henry. With that knowledge, she raised her hand and knocked.

It took a little longer this time, but it was once again Regina who answered the door. "Miss Swan," she greeted almost cautiously.

"Hi." Emma tried to smile. "Is it still okay if I talk to Henry today?"

Regina blinked and then nodded, opening the door a little wider to allow Emma to enter.

"Thank you."

"Henry, come down here please." Regina called up the steps once Emma had entered the house.

No movement was heard upstairs and Regina sighed. "There's someone here to see you." She tried and this time, heavy footfalls could be heard as the boy rushed for the stairs.

Emma could see the pained look that Regina was trying so hard to hide. She frowned as the kid came into view at the top of the steps.

"Emma!" Henry exclaimed as he raced down the steps to tackle her with another hug.

"Hey, kid."

"What are you doing here? Did you remember?"

"I'm here to talk to you for a little while. And no, I don't remember anything."

Henry frowned at her answer, but then lit up again. "What do you need to talk about?"

Emma glanced at Regina. She didn't really have a problem with the woman being there when she talked to Henry, but she thought it might make Henry more resistant. Regina seemed to catch her line of thinking.

"Why don't you two use the living room for your talk? I'll be in my study if you need anything."

Emma nodded her appreciation and Henry quickly led her to the living room, settling down on the couch. Emma took in the room and, even knowing that Regina would probably have a fit, sat down on the coffee table that was directly across from Henry. She needed to be looking him right in the eye for this conversation.

Regina frowned as she watched Emma sit on her coffee table from her vantage point just outside the living room, but said nothing. She wasn't even supposed to be watching or listening to them, but she needed to know what it was that Emma seemed to want to talk to Henry about.

Once they were settled, Emma put her hands on her knees and rubbed up and down a few times before she finally began to speak. "So, I had an appointment with Dr. Whale this morning."

"What did he say? When does he think you'll get your memory back? Everything's okay, right?"

Emma laughed a little. "Whoa, kid, slow down, okay? He said everything looks good with my recovery so far. But Henry, he also said that it's very possible that I will never get my memory back."

"You will. I know you will. You have to."

"Henry," Emma leaned forward, "this isn't a story. It's real life. And things don't always end with happily ever after."

"But Emma -"

"He also said," Emma cut him off, "that as long as everything continues to go well with my recovery he would release me to drive in a week."

Henry's brow furrowed for a moment. "Okay."

"Henry, when Dr. Whale releases me to drive, I'm going to drive back to Boston." Emma spoke gently, as though trying to cushion the blow.

Henry's eyes widened. "No! You can't. You can't leave. We need you here! I need you here. Please, Emma. You just can't leave. The curse is -"

Emma reached out and squeezed Henry's hands, cutting him off. "Henry, there is no curse. It's just a story in a book that you want to believe because it makes life seem more exciting. And I understand that, believe me, I do. But you have to understand that it isn't real."

"Yes, it is!" Henry protested.

"My life is in Boston. That's what I know. And that's where I'm going to go next week. I'm sorry if it hurts you or upsets you but… it's what I need to do."

Tears slipped down Henry's face. "No. You can't leave me with her. She's evil, Emma. This is exactly what she wants."

"Henry," Emma's voice was sharp, surprising both Henry and Regina. "You have to stop this. Your mother is not evil."

"Yes, she is! And she's not my mother."

"Henry." Emma reached out and actually took hold of Henry by the shoulders. "It's enough. Seriously. It has to stop. I understand that sometimes this world is hard to take and that it's much more exciting and fun to imagine you live in a world where fairy tales exist and things are as simple as good and evil, but it isn't true. There is no curse. Your mother is not evil. And you need to stop saying that she is."

Tears continued to roll down Henry's cheeks. "This is what she wants. She wants you to leave. She wants you to not believe. Don't let her win, Emma. Please, don't let her win."

"Henry, if your mother is evil, if she honestly wanted me gone, then why did she pull me out of that car? Think about it. I was all alone. If she hadn't stopped, I would've died. She could've let me there, pretended she didn't see me and just continued on. But she didn't, Henry. She stopped and she came over and she risked herself to pull me out of a burning car. What part of that says evil to you?"

Henry frowned, trying to find the explanation for his mother's actions. There had to be one.

"She didn't cut my brakes. I asked her and she told me herself that she didn't."

"She was lying!"

"Nope. I have a superpower, kid. I know when people are lying to me and your mother was being honest. She didn't cut my brakes, but she did save me. That's what good people do, Henry, not people who are evil."

"At the hospital –"

"At the hospital, yes, your mom was a little mean. But it was only because she was trying to protect you. She thought I was faking my amnesia and that I was hurting you by doing that. She loves you, Henry. She wants you to be happy. How is that evil?"

"Emma –"

"Do you honestly believe that she doesn't love you?" Emma asked, her eyes staring directly into Henry's. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that she's never shown you any kind of love before? That you don't have any happy memories with her? Can you do that?"

Regina felt her breath hitch as she waited for the damnation about to come from Henry's lips. But it didn't come.

Henry looked at Emma and opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't speak. Because he could and did remember times when he had been happy with Regina. When he'd loved her and she'd loved him back – at least in his child's mind. But it had all been a lie, because she was the Evil Queen. Hadn't it?

"See." Emma gestured between them. "So if you believed it then, why can't you believe it now?"

"She took me away from you! She's trying to keep me from you."

Emma's eyes closed and she took in a deep breath before she opened them again. "Henry, when and how did you find out you were adopted?"

Regina leaned closer in the doorway, still staying out of sight, but trying to take in every word of their conversation. Emma was asking questions that she'd always wanted to ask but had never been able to.

"A month or so before I came to find you." Henry admitted quietly. "I overheard Mr. Gold talking to her about it. About how I wasn't really her son – how she'd adopted me and never told me about you."

Emma nodded slowly, in some kind of understanding. "And so you tracked me down."

"Because I needed you. I knew I had to find you."

"Henry, did you get the book before or after you found out you were adopted?" Emma pressed.

"A couple days before."

Again, Emma nodded. "So you were given a book of fairy tales that I'm assuming had pictures that looked like some people here in Storybrooke in which the Evil Queen looked like your mom. And then you found out that your whole life had been a lie."

Regina nearly burst into the room at Emma's comment. How dare that woman say that Henry's whole life had been a lie? She had no idea what Henry's life had been because she had given him up.

"Yes!" Henry nodded quickly.

"So you projected your anger at your mom for lying to you onto the book. And you allowed yourself to believe that she was evil, because only someone who was evil would do something like that."

Henry wasn't as quick to say yes this time. "I wasn't projecting."

"I think you were. I think you were angry and that made it easy to believe that what was in the book could be real. But Henry, it isn't. And your life wasn't a lie. You are Regina's son."

"I'm yours!" He protested, although it seemed slightly weaker than before.

Emma sighed. "Henry, I gave birth to you. That's true. But I also gave you up. And when I gave you up, I asked for a closed adoption. That means that you and your mom weren't supposed to know who I was. And I wasn't supposed to ever see you again. I wanted it that way. And just the fact that I'm here right now is in violation of that agreement. If your mom really wanted to, she could have me arrested for violating the adoption agreement. I think the only reason she hasn't was for you."

Henry shook his head again, but said nothing.

"I gave you up. I made the decision that you should never know who I was. I chose to give you up. And your Mom chose you. She chose you to be her son. She chose to love you. You are her son, that's not a lie. I'm not cut out to be anyone's mother, Henry. That's not who I am. And if that makes anyone the villain in this story, then it's me."

Henry continued to cry silently as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Henry." Emma told him softly. "But I am leaving next week. I know that you might hate me for that and that's okay. This is what I need to do. And maybe someday you'll understand and forgive me. But even if you never do, I just want you to know that when I gave you up, I wanted to give you your best chance. And I did that. You got that here, Henry. And I don't regret it."

She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Goodbye, Henry."

"No, Emma, please!" Henry called from the couch, but Emma just kept walking.

**

Regina had just barely made it into her study when Emma crossed over the threshold. She kept her head down, as though reading the papers in front of her, until Emma cleared her throat softly.

"Um, Madam Mayor?"

Regina schooled her features before looking up. She couldn't let it show on her face that she'd heard everything. "Yes, Miss Swan?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I, uh, finished my talk with Henry. He's a little upset but I think he'll get over it. Eventually."

"And why is he upset?" Regina asked, her eyes boring into Emma.

"Because I told him that I'm going to be leaving town in a week." Emma admitted. "I know that it's customary to give two weeks' notice when leaving a job, but… I hope one is enough."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her badge. "Mary Margaret said that you had backed Sidney in the election. I thought that he could take over for me."

Regina watched as Emma placed the badge down on the desk. "You're serious about this?"

Emma nodded. "It's what I need to do. It's what's best for all of us, I think."

"Then I accept your resignation, Miss Swan."

"Thank you." Emma said. She turned to leave the room, but stopped and turned back. "We were never friends, were we?"

Regina looked up in surprise. "No, Miss Swan. I can't say that we were."

"That's too bad." Emma smiled sadly. "Regardless though, I just want to say thank you for everything. I don't know what happened between us but I know it can't have been easy having me here. I can't explain my motivations for why I stayed, because I don't know what they were. But I do know that I'm so thankful to you."

"And why are you thankful to me?" Regina asked, genuinely wanting to know what Emma was thinking.

"You saved my life, for one thing." Emma shrugged. "But more than that, you loved my son and made him your own. After I gave him up, that was what I worried about the most. If he would be happy and loved and well taken care of. And now I know that he is. I don't have to worry any more. So I'll be forever thankful for that."

Regina found that she couldn't say anything. She only offered a small smile to the blonde.

"Goodbye, Mayor Mills."

"Goodbye, Miss Swan."

Regina watched Emma go and was surprised to find that the joy she always expected to feel when Emma finally left wasn't there. Instead, it was just more of the same emptiness that had been there since she'd enacted the curse.  



	5. Chapter 5

Mary Margaret stood in the doorway, watching as Emma placed the old baby blanket on top of the box of her belongings. She was again struck by the fact that all of Emma's worldly possessions - her whole life in items and tokens - could fit into one cardboard box. Even after her time in Storybrooke, Emma hadn't added anything to the box. It really was as though her entire stay had been erased, or would be once Emma left.

"That's the last of it." Emma spoke without looking up, folding down the flaps on the box.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Mary Margaret asked, the same question that she'd been asking all week. "I know your memories aren't back yet but it's possible -"

Emma looked over at the brunette. She'd come to care for her in the last week and didn't want to hurt her. But Emma had long since figured out that it was better to hurt other people than to be hurt herself. "Lots of things are possible, Mary Margaret. What's to say that I won't get to Boston and remember everything and drive right back here?"

It was a rhetorical question. They both knew the chances of that happening were slim. Mary Margaret sat down on the bed, her shoulder bumping Emma's gently. "Well, it could."

Emma had already crushed enough hopes and dreams, so she just nodded. "It could."

"I know that you don't remember but," Mary Margaret looked at the woman who had quickly become her best friend, "I'm really going to miss you."

"I'll call. I'll keep in touch." Emma offered, but they both knew that it was a hollow offering.

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

Emma leaned back until she was lying down on the bed, her eyes on the ceiling. "I'm not cut out for this Mary Margaret. I'm not cut out to be anyone's mother, let alone their savior. I run. That's what I do. And it's better that I go now, before I hurt everyone else even more."

Mary Margaret allowed herself to fall back onto the bed as well. She glanced over at Emma before focusing on the ceiling as well. "You're not leaving until the morning?"

"Early." Emma told her. "Before the sun comes up. Hoping to beat traffic."

"Be careful. The old road out of town is dangerous. Winding with lots of animals in the forest that like to cross in front of you. You wrecked the last time you tried to leave."

Emma let out a soft laugh. "I'm apparently a pretty bad driver when it comes to this place. Surprised I'm still alive."

"Just promise to be careful." Mary Margaret's voice was quiet and strained.

Emma looked over at the brunette and nodded softly. "I promise."

Mary Margaret wanted to make Emma promise to say goodbye as well, but something stopped her. Instead she just closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep beside the blonde.

Emma dozed on and off for a while, before she finally rose from the bed, careful not wake Mary Margaret. As she looked down at the brunette, asleep with her arms folded over her stomach, Emma could almost see why Henry was so sure she was Snow White. She certainly looked like a princess, sleeping so peacefully there.

Emma shook her head. She needed to get out of here. Storybrooke was already messing with her mind. She hefted the box up and headed for the door, but found herself stopping at the threshold. She set the box down in the hall and moved back to the bed.

"Bye, Mary Margaret." She whispered to the darkness, before she carefully placed a kiss on the brunette's forehead, just as she'd done with Henry.

Mary Margaret mumbled out "Emma", but didn't wake up.

Emma scribbled out a quick note which she left on the kitchen table with the keys Mary Margaret had given her. She checked that the door was locked, loaded the box in her yellow Bug and started to make her way out of the town.

Mary Margaret had been right. The road out of town was winding and almost sinister in the dark with its quick twists and blind curves. A few separate times, Emma swore she saw a wolf just along the road, but whenever she glanced again, it was gone. Finally, the Welcome to Storybrooke sign came into her vision. For a brief second she hit the brakes as she imagined her car spinning out of control and hitting the sign. But nothing happened and once she composed herself, she pushed down on the gas pedal, leaving the town behind.

As she eased onto Highway 95, she expected to feel free, but instead she just felt numb.

**

Mary Margaret woke just as the sun was coming up. She didn't need to look next to her to know that Emma was already gone. She could feel it, in a way that went deep into her soul and that she couldn't explain.

She climbed out of bed and went down to the kitchen, her eyes settling on the keys and piece of paper left on the kitchen table.

The note was short and to the point - so very like Emma that it made her smile through her tears.

MM, I'm no good at goodbyes. Thanks for everything. - E

With a sad smile, she put the note on the fridge and then forced herself to go on with her morning routine, doing her best to ignore the glaring absence of the blonde.

**

As the entire town woke up and set about their days, everyone could tell that something was different - something had changed - but no one could quite put their finger on what it was.

No one but Henry, who peeked out his window and frowned as he looked at the clock tower.

The clock was once again stuck, time unmoving. This time though, it was stuck at 4:23, the time - Henry was sure - Emma had crossed over the boundary of Storybrooke. He only hoped that Emma was still safe and that nothing bad had happened when she left town.

Although it wasn't obvious to anyone else, Henry knew what had happened in the night. Emma Swan had left and taken all of the changes that she'd brought to Storybrooke with her.

**

The drive was uneventful and when Emma pulled the Bug into her parking spot outside her apartment in Boston, she did feel a slight calmness settle over her. She grabbed the box from the passenger side and lugged it inside.

"Home sweet home," she sighed as she tossed her keys on the kitchen counter.

Her apartment was the same as she remembered, only dustier and with a smell coming from the refrigerator that she guessed was spoiled milk. It was about the only thing she had in the fridge at any particular time, thank goodness.

Once she had cleaned it out and sprayed some air freshener, Emma finally picked up her phone and typed out a quick text, sending it before she could over think it. Then she tossed the phone on the counter next to her keys and moved into her bedroom with the box.

It was quick work unpacking, a fact she tried not to think too much about. Besides the clothes still hanging in the closet, her entire life fit into a box. It was a sad statement to be sure, but she didn't want to dwell on it.

This was her life, for better or worse. It was what she knew, what she remembered. It was all she really had. She was going to crawl into bed, sleep everything from the past two weeks off, and then tomorrow she'd get back to work.

She stripped down to her tank top and panties and crawled under the familiar yet unfamiliar sheets. Her head hit the pillow and she was sound asleep a few minutes later.

The clock read 8:15.

**

Mary Margaret's phone chimed at 7:55. She grabbed it quickly, glad that the school bell hadn't rung yet. The screen flashed up at her, a welcome but painful sight. 'New text from Emma'.

She clicked it open. Just like the note, it was succinct. 'Made it home safely.'

Mary Margaret frowned. She felt like Emma's home was in Storybrooke. Still, she was glad to know that Emma had made it back safely. She had been worried.

She had just flipped her phone shut when Henry came into the classroom, his face stoic.

"Good morning, Henry." She offered him a smile but he didn't return it.

"She's gone, isn't she?" He asked instead.

Mary Margaret nodded slowly. "I just got a text from her. She made it back to Boston safely."

Henry seemed even more upset at this news. "She was the only one who could leave." He mumbled sadly.

"I'm sorry, Henry." Mary Margaret offered.

"Me too." He slumped down at his desk, feeling like he'd lost everything. The book was gone, Emma was gone, and all hope felt like it was gone too.

**

Emma stared at herself in the mirror. She'd been back in Boston for two weeks, but she still didn't feel right. She'd never really felt like any of the places she'd ever stayed had been home, but she'd at least felt comfortable in her choice - until she didn't and then it was time to move.

Before the accident, Boston had been comfortable. The jobs were exciting, most times, and the apartment was nice. She hadn't minded it then. But now, she did.

She'd tried to do a few jobs, but found that she just wasn't into it. Her head still rebelled against her with vicious headaches at times and even when she felt fine, she didn't have the drive that she'd had before. She was used to feeling like something was missing - had felt that way her entire life - but now she felt it even more keenly.

Her thoughts drifted back to Storybrooke and Henry more often than she wanted them to, no matter how much she tried to stop herself. It was slowly driving her crazy. She could see it in her reflection.

She'd lost some weight and her eyes were sunken with large bags under them. Dr. Whale had removed the stitches on her last visit with him, but the scar was still there on her forehead, angry and red even as it started to fade. She'd followed up on her end of the deal, getting her surgical wound checked out by a doctor in Boston who'd declared that things were continuing to heal up nicely and had removed the staples. That wound, too, was still obvious.

"A hole in my head. Literally." She mumbled as she stared at herself and the still mostly bald spot where they'd shaved her temple to be able to drill into her skull.

Her blonde hair hung limply, pissing her off for reasons she couldn't even explain. But seeing how long it was on one side and then seeing none on the other really set her off. With a determined gleam in her eye, Emma grabbed the scissors she'd brought into the bathroom with her and started to attack her hair.

She was not a beautician by any means but she didn't worry much. Her hair already looked ridiculous, she couldn't screw it up much more. And watching the blonde locks fall to the floor was therapeutic in its own way. The old Emma was falling to the floor, just like her hair. And the new Emma was going to be better. She was going to leave Boston and forget about her son and the town that she didn't really remember but still seemed to be haunting her none the less.

It'd been a while since she'd been on the West coast, and rumor had it that there were some big ticket jobs waiting out there. She intended to find out for herself. So, with her box of belongings, another two boxes of clothes, and her newly short hair, Emma Swan packed up her Bug and started driving toward a new destination with the hope that it would give her a new outlook as well.

Anything had to be better than the past two weeks.  



	6. Chapter 6

Regina stood outside town hall, looking up at the clock tower. For the past two weeks, the hands had remained steadfast and unmoving. No one in town seemed to notice, or if they did, they weren't saying anything to her.

She shook her head angrily and continued on into her office. She had gotten what she wanted. Emma Swan was gone. Time was once again frozen. Things were back to the way they'd always been. The way that they were meant to be. Her happy ending was no longer in danger.

So why wasn't she happy?

With a sigh, she sat down at her desk, looking over the papers that were spread there. Storybrooke business. It should've been enough to keep her occupied. It always had been before. But now - now Regina was aware of just how monotonous her life truly was.

Time had started with the arrival of Emma Swan for better or worse. She had had to adjust, to deal with the fact that things were actually happening and changing in town. It had made her life messy and complicated. She had hated every second of it.

Now Emma Swan was gone and time was once again at a stand still. Things were back to being orderly and controlled. And she found herself hating every second of it.

At least with Emma in town, things had been exciting. The blonde had found a way to get under her skin, to shake things up, to make Regina's blood pump again. After 28 years of the same routine, it had been a welcome change - even if she'd never admit it.

But now the blonde was gone and Regina felt like she was losing her mind. She didn't want the woman there and she certainly didn't miss her now that she was gone. No, Regina didn't miss Emma at all. She didn't miss her smirk or her ugly leather jackets or her attitude. She didn't miss having to fight for Henry's affections or having someone who would stand up to her. She didn't miss scrambling to keep control of her town and the people in it.

Except that she did. She missed all of it - every last thing that she'd hated about Emma Swan - because life without her was boring. There was no other way to describe it. It was just downright boring. Regina despised boring almost as much as she despised Snow White. And she despised Emma for making her realize just how bored she was.

Without Emma there to lead them, the citizens of Storybrooke had turned back into sheep. They went about their business as usual and didn't question anything. Sidney had been appointed as the new sheriff and no one had raised an eyebrow. They'd clapped politely at the ceremony she'd thrown for him and then left without a word. He was the perfect figure head, as she knew he would be. He reported everything to her - except that there was nothing to report.

Mary Margaret and David's little flirtation had come to a halt. Archie had gone back to being his meek self, still meeting with Henry, but keeping her updated on everything without batting an eyelash as he always had. Even Henry had stopped fighting her. He was withdrawn, hardly speaking to her, obviously upset and angry, but without his book and Emma there, it was as though he'd lost the fighting spirit too.

Where was the wolf that would challenge her? Where were the people who had persecuted her with such vehemence back in the Enchanted Forest? And why did she care? She wanted them to be trapped, pitiful excuses of the people they had once been. Didn't she?

With an angry growl, Regina tossed her pen down, standing up and beginning to pace the office. This couldn't be happening. She couldn’t miss Emma. She hated Emma.

She found herself cursing the woman once again. She cursed her for existing. She cursed her for showing up and ruining everything and for leaving and still ruining everything. She cursed the way that any time she saw Kathryn on the street, it stopped her cold, expecting the blonde hair to belong to Emma. And she cursed herself for the pang she felt every time she realized it was only Kathryn and not Emma.

If only these curses could actually be enacted. But they couldn't, because she'd given up everything for this curse - this curse that Emma Swan had somehow managed to turn against her.

"Mayor Mills, the sheriff is here for you." Her secretary's voice interrupted her stormy thoughts.

For a second, her own excitement got the better of her. Her blood began to pump in anticipation of a confrontation. Then the door to her office opened and Sidney stepped inside and Regina was reminded again of the fact that Emma Swan was gone and she had gotten exactly what she wanted.

Once again, Gold's voice sounded in her head. _Be careful what you wish for._

**

As she ran along the water, her bare feet slipping in the sand - she'd kicked off her shoes as soon as she'd jumped from the pier to the beach - she tried to remember why she'd thought California would be a good idea. Sure Malibu was lovely and she enjoyed the sun, but when it came to actual chases, it sucked. Although chasing people through the snow sucked more, so maybe this wasn't so bad. At least she was getting a tan and looking healthier now.

Her head was starting to pound - and a little voice reminded her that she hadn't seen a doctor since she'd arrived in California - as she pushed herself harder, cursing the skirt that was restricting her movements. She really needed to stop dressing up for these assholes.

Just when she thought she was going to lose the guy because she couldn't catch up, a group of people playing Frisbee came to her rescue. The guy tried to dodge them, but they were so spread out that he couldn't avoid all of them without slowing down. It wasn't by much, but it was enough that she could inch ahead and go into a dive, tackling the guy to the sand.

Even after she took him down, he still fought her, rolling in the sand to try to catch her off balance, but she held on tight, happily pushing his face down into the surf that he'd rolled them into. She wrenched his hands behind his back and cuffed him quickly. She was pretty sure that she wasn't supposed to take the handcuffs with her when she left Storybrooke, but they were quickly coming in handy.

"Really, Frank? You're gonna run from me, when I'm the one who helped your wife bail your sorry ass out of jail for tax fraud? I don't think so."

The man coughed and sputtered beneath her, trying to keep his head above water. "I should just let you drown, jackass." She huffed out. "But then I wouldn't get my money back. And your wife - god knows why - would miss you. So stop struggling and I'll let you up."

The group of people all watched in interest as she tugged him to his feet and started pushing him toward the pier. She was aware that her clothes were wet and covered with sand and was sure that they both looked like a sight.

"Nothing to see here, folks." She said with a hint of humor as she pushed him passed them, ignoring his muttered curses.

"Whoa." She heard whispered from beside her and she turned to see a kid that couldn't have been more than ten standing there. For one brief second, he had Henry's face and she almost stopped short. But then she blinked and Henry was gone, replaced by a blonde haired, blue eyed kid holding a Frisbee.

As she shoved Frank into the back of her Bug she made a mental note to clean her car and look up a good neurologist. These flashes needed to stop.

**

"You're gonna leave me, aren't you?" The voice trembled, revealing her fear as she clutched onto the other woman's arm.

Only this time, it wasn't Regina asking the question, but Emma, staring up at Regina with fear written all over her face. Regina was now the one in control, the one who had the power to walk away, to save herself and leave Emma to fend for herself. She yanked her arm out of Emma's grip, leaving the deputy behind.

"Regina! Regina! Please!" Emma's screams echoed, but Regina ignored them, running past the fire extinguisher and continuing out the front door where the entire town seemed to be congregated.

She was coughing and sputtering, but no one seemed to notice. They were all looking for Emma. "Where's Emma? What happened to Emma?"

Everyone's eyes were fixed on her, waiting for an answer. She saw Henry's face in the crowd, saw his disappointment so vividly that it seemed to reach out and choke her.

The volunteer firefighters tried to go into the building, to save Emma, but the flames burst higher, taking over the whole building and forcing them back.

"Regina! Regina!" She could hear Emma's pained screams, echoing in her ears.

Regina spun on the firefighters. "She's still in there. She's still alive. Can't you hear her screaming? Go get her!" She demanded, but everyone just shook their heads, the same look of disappointment on their faces.

"It's too late." They whispered. "She's gone."

"No." Regina shook her head. She could still hear Emma's pleas for help. Why couldn't they?

"You were the only one who could save her, but you left her there." They accused, still in those damn whispers.

"No. She's alive. I can hear her. Why can't you?"

"Regina! Please!"

Regina turned, suddenly determined to enter the building, but hands reached out and stopped her, holding her fast. Their voices rose, drowning out Emma's cries. "You let this happen. You let her go. Now you can't get her back."

"No!" Regina woke with a start, choking on the word, her eyes frantically looking around the room. Her heart was racing and she was gasping for breath.

"Mom?" Henry's voice came from the doorway and she looked over at him quickly, her mind still trying to determine what was real and what had been the dream.

The disappointment wasn't on Henry's face, instead it was the same blank look he'd been wearing for the past four weeks. "Henry."

"You were yelling. Did you have a bad dream?"

"A dream?" Regina's mind clicked into place. "Yes. It was a dream."

It was only dream. Another in the string of dreams that she'd been having since Emma Swan had left town. For some reason, her subconscious had taken great delight in inflicting her with dreams in which Emma Swan died because of her. The car accident had plagued her for the first week, but she had explained it away as normal. The accident had been bad, Emma could have died.

But then others had started to join in. This one, with the fire and their situations reversed, and one where Emma had rescued Henry and Archie from the mine but then fallen to her own death. And the one that she did her best not to think about - where her hand crushed the heart that she thought belonged to Graham, but instead she rose up from her father's tomb to find Emma dead on the steps, her eyes open but unseeing.

Henry shook his head. "I'm going to be late for school."

"Henry!" She called out to him, but he just continued down the hall.

With a sigh, she fell back on the pillows, running her hand over her face. This nonsense had to stop. Henry had to stop blaming her for Emma's accident and leaving. And these damn dreams needed to stop, too.

She had destroyed lives, spilled blood, crushed hearts beneath her hand and never once batted an eyelash. Emma Swan had merely been in an accident - an accident that Regina had not had any part in, damn it - and lost some of her memories. Yet it was Emma who plagued her thoughts and dreams. Why? What was so damn special about the woman? And why would she not leave Regina in peace?  



	7. Chapter 7

The diner had only a few occupants in it when Regina entered. She glanced around, remembering times when the diner had been full of her citizens, coming to congratulate Emma on her win as Sheriff, or even just sitting together, talking and laughing over eggs or drinks. But now everyone was back in their own little worlds, not caring about what was happening with others, only worried about their own humdrum little lives. It was as she'd wanted, but again, Regina found that getting what she wanted was now lacking.

"Good morning, Madam Mayor. What can I get you?" Ruby asked, leaning over the counter. Regina noticed that even Ruby's outfit wasn't nearly as scandalous as it would've been if Emma had still been in town.

"A coffee to go, Ruby." She sighed, sitting down on one of the stools to wait.

"You want a hot chocolate to go with that?" Ruby asked, not even writing anything on her notepad.

"Why would I want a hot chocolate?" Regina asked with a hint of venom. Still, she was rather pleased that someone seemed to be questioning her again. Perhaps this could be worthwhile.

"I just thought maybe Henry was with you." Ruby shrugged and then turned away, saying no more.

Again, Regina sighed. Henry was not with her. And it was with Emma that Henry had always gotten hot chocolate.

"Something the matter, Madam Mayor?"

Regina turned to find the strange man who had come into town sitting next to her. Emma had said she was going to look into him before her accident but now… Regina shook her head. She was tired of being reminded of the former Sheriff at every turn.

Her eyes narrowed as she took in the man. "Who are you?"

"August W. Booth." He replied easily, holding out a hand. "The W stands for Wayne. And you're Regina Mills, mayor of this great town."

Regina rolled her eyes and ignored the outstretched hand. "What are you doing in my town, Mr. Booth? And why are you approaching my son?"

"Just passing through." The man smiled at her. And there was something familiar in that smile, something that Regina couldn't quite place. "As for your son, I was just saying hello. He seems like an interesting boy. Does he still have that book he was carrying around?"

"No." Regina said sharply. "You stay away from my son."

August raised his hands as though in surrender. "I mean him no harm, I assure you." He picked up the coffee mug in front of him and drank from it. "It's a shame about the book though. Losing something that's so important to you is always difficult. Isn't it, Madam Mayor?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Regina hissed, her eyes cutting over to Ruby. How long did it take to pour a cup of coffee into a Styrofoam cup?

"Oh?" August put his own cup down and tossed a few bills onto the counter. "Well, in my experience, when you lose something of great value, it plagues your thoughts and dreams and you're never really satisfied until you get it back. If you can get it back, that is."

Before Regina could reply, August stood. "Have a good day, Madam Mayor." He called to her as he left the diner, climbing on his bike and riding away.

"Weird having somebody new in town." Ruby commented as she placed the Styrofoam cup down in front of Regina. "He's certainly no Emma, is he?"

"What?" Regina's eyes flew to Ruby.

Ruby shrugged. "He keeps to himself. Doesn't talk to anyone. I don't think he's going to stick around. Not like Emma."

"Miss Swan didn't stick around either." Regina reminded her quickly.

Ruby frowned. "That's true, I guess. Too bad. I think she was good for us."

Before Regina could reply, another customer entered the diner and Ruby moved away to take their order. Regina clutched her cup, allowing the heat to seep into her skin as she left the diner, never taking notice of the half empty mug of hot chocolate that August had left behind.

**

"You're gonna leave me, aren't you?"

Emma glanced around the café, trying to figure out where the voice came from. She was sitting in a corner booth, keeping her eyes peeled for a woman who had skipped out on the bail that her mother had put up with Emma's help and was known to frequent the place. But there was no one else around her and the café was quiet.

"Help me."

Emma blinked. This time she knew where she heard the voice. It wasn't from in the café, it was from in her head.

A woman's face flashed through her mind suddenly, frightened and dirty, but hazy as well. Had she been looking through smoke? She tried to remember, but just as quickly as it had come, the flash faded.

"Regina?" She whispered.

"I'm sorry?" Came a voice and this time when she looked up, she was looking into the face of the very woman she was looking for. "Did you say something?"

"Y-yeah." Emma cleared her throat and stood up on slightly shaky legs. "I said, why did you skip out of your bail, Vivien?"

The woman's eyes got wide and Emma started mapping out all the ways she could run, but luckily, she didn't. Instead she sighed and sank down in the chair in front of Emma. "I guess you're here to take me back?"

Emma nodded, pleased that this one would be easy. "Your mother, with my help, put up your bail. She loves you and believes in you. I'm not gonna let you screw that up."

Vivien's dark eyes looked up from under her lashes and for a second it was no longer Vivien, but Regina, wide eyed and frightened. "What do you know about screwing up?"

And Emma blinked, something about that question seeming almost familiar to her, but she couldn't grasp what it was. She shook her head and sighed. "A lot."

**

"The sheriff is here as you requested, Madam Mayor."

Regina looked up from the same pile of paperwork that had been on her desk all week. Things were still unchanged. She was still bored.

"Thank you, Leslie. Send her -" She caught herself quickly, "him in."

A few seconds later and Sidney was walking through the door, the Sheriff badge pinned on his shirt for all the world to see. Emma had always worn her badge on her jeans, settled on her hip with a quiet confidence, visible but not flashy. Regina shook her head to clear away the thoughts.

"What have you found?"

"Nothing, Madam Mayor." Sidney replied slowly.

Regina's brow arched. "Excuse me?"

Sidney cleared his throat. "Well, you see, I -"

Regina's voice was icy. "I gave you a job to do, Sheriff. If you can't do it, then perhaps I should rethink your position."

"No. No." Sidney was quick to try and soothe her. "I am doing my job, I assure you. It's just that I can't seem to locate her."

"You can't?" Regina's eyes narrowed.

"She's no longer in Boston, that much I'm sure about. But she didn't leave a forwarding address, naturally, and there's no one that seems to know anything about her or where she might have gone."

"There has to be someone." Regina hissed. "She had to have been seeing a doctor. Something."

"She did see a doctor, once. Had her staples removed. She set up a return appointment but never showed. I've checked into the old locations where she lived and worked but so far -"

Regina shook her head. "She wouldn't go back to any of them." 'You idiot' was unspoken, but heard loud and clear. "If she's running, she would've gone somewhere new."

"Y-yes, of course."

Regina's eyes were hard as she leveled a stare at Sidney - sniveling Sidney who had always done her bidding and who had caused this whole mess in the first place. "Find her."

Sidney opened his mouth to reply but Regina waved her hand, cutting him off and signaling that he should leave. He quickly turned and left the room.

Regina looked back down at her desk, opening one of her drawers to reveal a newspaper with a picture of her and Emma after the fire on the front page. "Where are you?" She asked the empty room.  



	8. Chapter 8

Mary Margaret was just cleaning up her desk when she heard the tell tale clicks of high heels coming down the hallway. Looking up, she saw Regina walking into the classroom.

"Mayor Mills," She stood up quickly, pushing her skirt down. "Are you supposed to be picking up Henry? He didn't tell me. I sent him home."

Regina shook her head. "I'm not here for Henry."

"Oh. Um, then is there something I can help you with?" Mary Margaret asked, twisting the ring on her finger.

"Yes." Regina watched as the ring slid around on the teacher's finger. She had cursed the entire town with amnesia and now Emma's amnesia was a curse all her own. "I wanted to know if you had heard from Miss Swan since she left town?"

"Emma?" Mary Margaret sounded surprised and skeptical. "Why do you care if I've heard from her? I mean -" The teacher blushed slightly. "I know you weren't her biggest fan."

"Regardless, she is Henry's birth mother and he has been sullen and withdrawn since she left."

Mary Margaret nodded slowly. "Yes. I told Henry all that I know, which is that Emma texted me when she reached Boston safely. But I haven't heard from her again since then."

"So you have her phone number?" Regina asked, moving closer, so that she was just on the other side of the desk.

"Um, yes."

"The one that I have from her appears to have been disconnected." Regina admitted. Then she swallowed and forced herself to ask the next question. "Would you give me her phone number, Miss Blanchard?"

Mary Margaret frowned. "I -" She turned and pulled her cell phone out of her bag. Regina watched as she scrolled through the contacts - and passed the name David - before hitting the send button over the name Emma. The phone rang one time before an automated voice picked up.

"The number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service." It chimed.

"That's the only number you have for her?"

Mary Margaret nodded, still frowning. "I didn't think that she'd disconnect her number." She mumbled to herself.

"Obviously Miss Swan wanted to cut all ties to us here in Storybrooke." Regina muttered darkly before turning on her heel and leaving the classroom.

Mary Margaret breathed a sigh of relief when she was gone, but still felt the acute ache when she looked down at her phone.

**

The bell tinkled as the door to his shop opened. Mr. Gold grinned as he addressed the new occupant of his store, never once looking up from the item he was cleaning.

"Ah, Mayor Mills. I was wondering when you would come to see me."

Regina said nothing, just stared at him with contempt.

"I can feel your anger from across the room." He taunted. "You must be awfully desperate to seek me out, dearie."

"I am not desperate." She hissed, turning as though to leave.

"Ah ah." He called out to her back. "If you leave, how will you ever get the information you seek?"

Regina turned back, her eyes narrowed. "How do you know what I seek?"

Gold's smile was down right sinister, and it sent a slight shiver down her back. "Because I know you, Regina. You wouldn't come to me unless it was a last resort. Now, come, tell me what it is you need." He paused, looking up to meet her eyes before he uttered the word. "Please."

Regina moved closer, almost involuntarily. "Damn you." She whispered fiercely.

"Now," Gold laughed, "is that any way to talk to the man who can help you find what you're looking for? And you are looking for something, aren't you, Regina? Or rather, someone?"

"I don't know why I came here." She spat out, but found that she couldn't make herself leave the shop.

"Yes, you do, dearie." He smiled again. "You know exactly why you came to me now. Just like when you came to me all those years ago, looking for a baby."

"What do you want?"

"It isn't about what I want. It's about what you want." Gold stood and moved out from behind the counter, clutching the item he had been holding in his hand.

"Emma Swan." He said her name, unfurling his hand and revealing the circle pendant that Emma had always worn around her neck.

"Where did you get that?" Regina demanded, immediately recognizing the piece.

"I found it on my land, next to my tree that was destroyed when Miss Swan's car took that nasty spill into it." Gold smirked. "Pity such a horrible accident had to happen to such a lovely girl." He clicked his tongue. "The brakes in her car cut. Who would do such a thing?"

"Stop the games, Gold." She said, her eyes still on the pendant.

"I'm not playing games, my dear. Merely discussing our dearly departed sheriff. The town just isn't the same without her." His eyes moved beyond Regina, to the window in his door and the clock tower beyond it. "It feels almost like time stopped when she left, doesn't it?"

Regina said nothing, her mind spinning. He couldn't recognize that time had stopped, couldn't know. If he did, that meant -

"Or maybe it's just me." Gold closed his hand around the circle. "I do find myself missing the sheriff, though. Don't you?"

"Where is she?" Regina moved toward him.

"What makes you think that I know, dearie? If you can't find her, surely I, a humble shop keeper -"

"Where. Is. She?" The words were ground out.

"What is she worth to you? That's the real question."

"Nothing."

Gold laughed at her answer. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you, Madam Mayor? If she was worth nothing, you wouldn't have come to me."

Regina's eyes flashed. "She is worth nothing to me. My son however -"

"Don't you mean her son?" Gold smirked. "And we both know that you may care about the boy, but not enough to go looking for Miss Swan. No, your interest in her is personal. So again I ask, Madam Mayor, what is it that she is worth to you?"

"What is your price?"

Gold moved around her, sizing her up. Regina kept still, standing tall. She had never flinched before him - not even when he held all the power of the Dark One - and she would not flinch before him now when he was just a cripple who was no longer in control.

"I want your apple tree." He said finally, coming to stand in front of her.

"No." The reply was out of her lips before she even had time to think about it. No one would take her apple tree. Emma Swan could stay gone, she could stay haunted, but she would not give up the tree.

"Pity." Gold clucked. "Such a lovely tree."

"What else do you want?"

"I'm afraid the tree is it, dearie. You have nothing else of value to me."

Regina turned. "Then we're done here."

"Unless." Gold's voice stopped her from leaving once again. "There is one other thing you possess that I want."

Everything inside of her told her to continue walking, to find another way to find Emma, but she found herself turning back instead. "What?"

"Your job."

"What?" Disbelief colored her voice.

He smiled at her. "I'll even go easy on you. I won't make you just hand over the title to me. But come November, you must hold an official election. And you must allow a candidate to run against you."

"And you plan to be that candidate?" She raised one eyebrow.

"The citizens of Storybrooke don't trust you anymore, Madam Mayor. They blame you for Emma's accident and for her leaving. They might not act like it, but they see you now for what you really are. And given the choice between you or me," Gold's laughter was more a cackle, "I think that they'll choose me in a heartbeat. As long as they still have one."

Regina swallowed. She would deal with Gold and his power plays and what he may or may not know later. For now, this was a deal she could make. "Fine. I'll hold an open election. Now tell me where she is."

Gold circled her again. "Interesting. Miss Swan doesn't mean more to you than your precious apple tree, but she does mean more than your position here in Storybrooke. Very, very interesting indeed."

"Tell me where she is."

He moved back behind the counter, plucking a card from his Rolodex and handing it over to Regina. "It seems our Miss Swan has decided to try her luck in sunny California. I hope you're prepared to hop on a plane, Regina, as I only have an address. Telephones apparently made Miss Swan feel too connected so she disconnected herself from them entirely."

Regina grabbed the card from his hand and glanced down at it, making sure that there actually was an address written on it. There was nothing to guarantee that this was truly Emma's address, but Regina didn't doubt that it was. Gold may have been many things, but he always made good on his deals. It was those who didn't read the fine print who suffered.

"One more thing before you go." Gold said. "I thought perhaps your boy might like to have a token of his mother." He held up the circular pendant. "Shame about the chain being broken, but I think I have just the thing."

Reaching down he lifted out a long, thin gold chain that he slipped the pendant on to before clasping it. It was thin enough that it could've been mistaken for thread. Regina's eyes never left it.

He held the necklace out to her, letting it sway slightly in his hands. "Please. Take it."

Regina's right hand grasped the necklace. Gold smiled again. "You have a good day, Madam Mayor."

This time Regina did leave the shop, never once looking back.  



	9. Chapter 9

"Miss Swan," the doctor held out his hand as he came into the room. "I'm Dr. Rhodes. I've just gotten your test results and I have to say that everything looks good on this end."

Emma brow furrowed slightly at that news. "So there's nothing wrong?"

"Why do you think there might be something wrong? Are you experiencing symptoms that lead you to think something is wrong?"

"Yes. No. I don't know." Emma ran her hand through her now short hair, trying not to wince at its length. She'd made an impulsive decision and once again was living with the consequences. At least this time it was only something as small as her hair. She could live with that. Had been for the past month in fact.

"What's going on?" Dr. Rhodes asked, sitting down and looking at her.

"I keep having these - flashes, I guess? I'll look at someone and for a minute they look like someone else. Or I'll hear voices but no one is talking. And I'm still getting headaches sometimes. I don't know if I'm remembering or going crazy or -"

"I don't think you're going crazy." Dr. Rhodes smiled. "The headaches, while understandably concerning, are actually quite normal. As for the flashes, it is very possible that you are recovering bits of your memory. Do any of the flashes seem at all familiar?"

Emma nodded. "The people that I think I see are people that I know. Or knew, I guess. And the other things - I guess they could be things that happened. Things that were said. But, I don't know."

Dr. Rhodes glanced through her chart again. "You have no family?"

Emma thought of Henry and Mary Margaret and even Regina for a moment before she shook her head. "No. It's always just been me. Apparently when I had the accident I'd been living in a small town, but I have no memory of it and I don't stay in one place very long. I went back to Boston, where I remembered living but - it didn't feel right, so I thought I'd try my hand out here."

"And does it feel right out here?"

Emma frowned. "Not exactly."

Dr. Rhodes closed her file. "From a medical standpoint, Miss Swan, you are perfectly healthy. You've recovered amazingly well, minus the memory loss, and it seems like that may be coming back to you as well. I know that it can be scary when you don't know what's real and what's just your brain playing tricks on you. I'd suggest that you try to find somewhere that it does feel right, maybe somewhere that you at least know some people. It could help you feel more secure."

Emma laughed a bit, but it was humorless. "Secure isn't exactly something that I'm used to feeling, doc."

Dr. Rhodes offered her another smile. "What about right, then?"

Emma shrugged. "Not sure I know about that either. But thank you. At least I know I'm not crazy. Or brain damaged. Much."

"Good luck, Miss Swan."

"I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

**

Regina sat at her desk, tapping the card with Emma's address on her desk. She'd been staring at the card for over an hour, trying to force a phone number or some means of contact to appear. Somehow Regina was sure that Emma wouldn't be opening any mail, especially if it was postmarked from Storybrooke. Besides, what was she to write in a letter?

_Please come back to Storybrooke. I've realized how boring my life without you is, even though I still plan to make yours a living hell if you do come back, just because it pleases me?_

And as Gold had not so subtly pointed out, without a means to contact her, the only option was to actually go after the girl. But because of the curse that was impossible. No one could leave Storybrooke without something terrible happening. Except, of course, for Emma Swan.

But something terrible had happened then too, hadn't it? It had just happened to Regina instead of Emma.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her office door opening. She looked up sharply, ready to ream her secretary for coming in when she'd specifically asked for no visitors. Except it wasn't Leslie who was entering her office. It was August W. Booth.

"Madam Mayor," he nodded at her. "Sorry to just barge in, but I had to tell you, your new sheriff is terrible at gathering information."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, I assume that you sent him after me, to interrogate me and find out why I was in town."

Regina's lips pursed. She had given Sidney that job, but apparently he had failed once again.

"Your former sheriff was a much better interrogator. And far prettier to look at." August smirked. "I miss her."

Regina rolled her eyes. Of course Miss Swan had tried to get information out of the man by flirting with him. So why did she feel an unnecessary bout of rage rising up within her at the news?

"And it appears that I'm not the only one."

"What?"

"Your son, Henry. He's been moping about since she left. Not to mention his teacher. And just about everyone else in town. Seems like she had quite an impact on this town."

"Yes, well, Miss Swan made the decision to leave. I cannot control her actions and should not be held responsible for them."

"Who said I was holding you responsible?" August moved over and leaned on her desk. "I was just noting how different the town was without her."

"Yes, well, thank you, Mr. Booth. Now that you've noted that, kindly leave my office."

August looked down, his eyes lighting on the card in her hand for a second, before looking back up at her. "Like I said at Granny's, it's always hard when you lose something of value. But sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll find a way to get it back."

"Not everyone is as lucky as you seem to think, Mr. Booth. Sometimes even if you know where the thing of value is, it can still remain out of your reach."

"Ah. True. And not having something. Well…" August met her eyes, "I think you know what that's like, Madam Mayor."

"Who are you?" Regina asked suddenly.

"It's just like I told both of your sheriffs. I'm just a writer passing through."

"And when are you planning on leaving, Mr. Booth?"

He smiled at her, that damn smile that lingered in the back of her mind. How did she know this man? "In the next few days, if all goes well."

"If all goes well?"

He nodded, but gave nothing else away. "I just wanted to drop this off to you." He reached into the messenger bag he was carrying and pulled out a large brown book.

"Where did you get that?" Regina asked, grabbing the book from his hands. Her fingers ran over the words. _Once Upon A Time_.

"I found it and realized that it belonged to Henry. I thought I should return it to him." August smiled. "You see. Things of value can be returned. Sometimes all you have to do is admit that what you've lost is valuable. My mother taught me that."

Regina set the book down on her desk. "Thank you for returning this. But I don't think even this will make Henry happy anymore."

"Hmm." August hummed. "Maybe it won't. I did notice the end was missing. Seems like it might have been torn out. Or maybe it just wasn't written yet."

"Oh it was written." She muttered darkly.

"Then maybe it needs rewritten." August replied easily. "I never did like how all those fairy tales ended. Happily ever after for the good and punishment for the wicked. That's boring. And what about the so called villains?"

"What about them?" Regina asked, her eye brow raised. "You don't believe they deserve to be punished?"

"I think they deserve to be redeemed. Why can't they have happily ever after too?"

Regina laughed bitterly. "Did your mother put that idea in your head too?"

A mysterious smile flitted across August's face. "In her own way, I guess she did."

"Then she was a fool. There is no redemption for the wicked. They will never get their happily ever after. Believe me."

This time, August laughed, a rich sound, full of mirth. Regina felt her blood boil at the way he was laughing at her. How dare he?

"My mother was, and is, many things, but a fool is not one of them." He shook his head. "And I think you're wrong. I think redemption is always possible, if the person wants it."

"Just because they want it, they can be redeemed?" Regina challenged.

"That's the first step. And a pretty big first step too. Admitting that you've done something that you need to be redeemed for? That takes a strong person. After that," he shrugged, in a way that oddly reminded her of Emma, "having someone to talk to is always helpful. Everyone has a story. Sometimes they just need to be able to tell their side of it."

August grinned and leaned even further over her desk, right into Regina's space. "But then, I'm just a writer. What do I know?"

"Get out of my office." Regina hissed, her hands coming up to shove him away.

"As you wish, your majesty." He mock bowed and turned to move away. When he reached the doorway he turned back with a smile. "As for things of value, sometimes you need to let them go and trust that they'll come back to you. My mother taught me that as well. Goodbye, Madam Mayor." And with that, he was gone.

Regina turned her eyes back towards the desk, only to see that somehow, the book had been opened. Looking down, she was shocked to see the picture that seemed to be staring up at her. It was a portrait of a much younger version of herself and Snow. The girl was sitting on her lap, looking up at her adoringly, as she'd done in those first years after Regina had been brought to the palace. She remembered how much she cared for the girl with ebony hair and skin as white as fresh fallen snow and how they had shared confidences together.

_Having someone to talk to is always helpful._

She shook her head and slammed the book closed, blocking out the picture. Talking to Snow, confiding in Snow had destroyed her happiness. The girl had ruined her life. It was because of her that all of this had happened. August W. Booth and his mother were wrong. There was no redemption for the wicked - at least not for her.  



	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't figured it out, in this story August is my version of future!Henry. I know that - as well as other things in this fic - have been majorly Jossed since I started writing this, but I'd started this before all of that, and as you will find in these next few chapters, I'm really writing my own backstory here, so a good portion of it is not going to line up with the show, I'm sure. Hence the AU after 1x11.

Regina settled into a booth at Granny's, her coffee steaming in front of her. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. First the dreams of Emma had woken her, then when she'd finally managed to fall back asleep memories of the past had haunted her. And when she wasn't asleep, August's words were flitting through her mind constantly. If she thought she was losing her mind before, it was obvious that she'd completely lost it now.

"Can I get you anything else, Madam Mayor?" Ruby asked but Regina waved her away. What she wanted and needed was some time to think. She needed solitude, although she probably wasn't going to get that here anymore than she got it at home or the office.

Once Ruby was gone, she scanned the diner to be sure no one was paying her any attention. There were very few customers and none of them seemed to care that the mayor was among them. After another quick look she decided it was safe enough and pulled Henry's book out of his bag. She'd only ever really gotten to look at it once before and then she'd only cared about the ending – the ending that had been torn out.

Now though, she could take the time to really look at the book, to see exactly how much truth it held. She flipped open the back again, and was again presented with the picture of Charming's sword headed for her heart. She frowned as her fingers brushed over the remnants of the torn pages. What had Henry torn from the book? What hadn't he wanted her to see? Or had it been Henry that had torn it at all?

Starting from the back, she flipped forward a few pages, scanning over the words and glancing at the pictures, but finding them to be not only painful reminders of Snow and Charming's happiness, but dismally boring and far too flowery and romantic for her taste. Whoever had written this book had clearly been on the good side.

Frowning she continued to flip, until the picture from the day before caused her hands to falter. Reading quickly through the page, she saw that it only mentioned that The Queen had pretended to care for Snow White at first, but then grew to hate her as the child grew to be more and more beautiful. Regina didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the description of those first years at the palace. Of course they would claim that she had only pretended to care for Snow. Because how could she do anything other than pretend? Didn't everyone know that she had no heart? And of course it was because of her own vanity that she grew to hate Snow. It couldn't be because of what Snow had done, how she had betrayed her, how she had destroyed everything. Snow was the good one. The perfect little princess. And The Queen was the evil one. Vain and shallow and willing to kill the girl over her beauty alone.

Regina closed her eyes. She almost wished that this was the true story. That she was as heartless and cruel as they all made her out to be. It would've been easier and far less painful if it was. But the truth – the truth was so much worse than anything they could ever write in a children's book.

Swallowing hard, Regina moved to close the book and keep the picture from her sight. She was stopped by a voice though.

"Madam Mayor."

Her eyes flew open in surprise and she dropped the book cover back onto the table. "Miss Blanchard." She nodded, forcing the name out and trying to regain her composure.

Mary Margaret was almost passed the booth, having just nodded politely in greeting, when something in the mayor's voice stopped her. She turned back and frowned at the look on the other woman's face. It almost looked as though there were tears in Regina's dark brown eyes. She took a few steps back toward the booth.

"Is everything alright, Regina?" She asked softly, placing a hand on Regina's shoulder.

Regina flinched back as though she had been burned by Mary Margaret's touch. Mary Margaret blinked in surprise. While she knew that she wasn't exactly the mayor's favorite person, she hadn't expected her to react like that.

"I am fine, Miss Blanchard. I don't need your faked concern." There was poison in Regina's voice, but it wasn't enough to stop Mary Margaret this time either.

"It isn't faked." Mary Margaret assured her, sliding down into the other side of the booth much to Regina's annoyance. The last thing she needed was to see Mary Margaret right now, especially with all the memories and emotions that were swirling so close to the surface. "If there's something wrong, I'd like to help."

Regina's lips curled into a wicked smile. "And why would you care if there was something wrong? I know what you think of me."

Mary Margaret's brow furrowed and her face scrunched at the words. Regina recalled a much younger Snow and the way her face had done that exact same thing whenever she'd been confused about something. It made Regina want the woman to leave her alone even more. "Regina, I don't think anything –"

"I was there at the hospital, Miss Blanchard." Regina reminded her with a raise of the eyebrow. "Your feelings were very clear that night."

Eyelids slid shut and a look of regret flashed across Mary Margaret's face. It was a look that Regina wished she could have seen years ago. Now she refused to allow it to affect her. "Regina, I –"

"Miss Blanchard, why don't you save us both and just go?"

Mary Margaret opened her eyes, reached out, and grabbed Regina's hands before the mayor could react. They lay connected on top of the picture. "I was wrong, that night. I was worried about Emma and I allowed that fear to let me get carried away. I know that you had nothing to do with Emma's accident. I know that if it hadn't been for you she probably would've died. And I'm sorry if I –"

Regina pulled her hands away as though Mary Margaret's touch had burned her. "Now you know I had nothing to do with it?"

"Emma told me that you said you had nothing to do with it. She believed you, and I believe her."

"Well," Regina nodded, trying just to get the woman to leave, "thank you, Miss Blanchard. Your concern has been duly noted."

Mary Margaret sighed and after a moment's hesitation, moved to slide out of the booth. Regina thought that she'd finally be free of her, but as Mary Margaret pulled her hands back, she stopped again, looking down to see what was under her hands when she realized it wasn't the table.

"Henry's book." She said, sounding surprised and a little confused. "You found it."

"Yes." Regina's voice was clipped.

"He'll be so excited." Then her brow furrowed again. "You are going to give it back, aren't you?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "I know you think that I'm a horrible mother, Miss Blanchard, but I didn't steal the book from my son, and I will give it back to him."

"I don't think you're a horrible mother." Mary Margaret said, looking down in embarrassment. Her eyes fell on the picture and she found herself reaching out and turning the book so that she could see it better. Regina realized too late to stop her.

"This picture…" Her fingers ran over it almost reverently. "I've never seen them portrayed this way before. They look so… happy."

Regina said nothing, staring into her coffee cup and cursing Mary Margaret with everything she had.

"When The Queen first came to the palace, she pretended to care for the young princess." Mary Margaret read softly. "That can't be right."

Regina's eyes lifted, although her head stayed tilted down.

"The way that The Queen is looking at her… that can't just be pretend." She leaned down closer to the picture, staring at Regina but apparently not recognizing her. She whispered to the book. "What happened to you? What made you turn against her?"

Now Regina's whole head snapped up, her eyes wide as she took in Mary Margaret. "Wh-what?"

"I just – I can't believe, based on this picture, that The Queen would have tried to kill Snow White." She looked up and met Regina's eyes, searching for something in them. "So what happened?"

"She was evil. She lied."

Mary Margaret shook her head slightly. "No. That can't be the only story."

"Hasn't my son told you, Miss Blanchard? The Queen is evil. That's the only story."

Mary Margaret chewed on her lip for a moment, then turned the book back toward Regina. "Well, I don't believe that. I don't believe that she was just evil. I don't believe that's the whole story." She stood from the booth and stepped closer to Regina, once again putting her hand on the mayor's shoulder and squeezing. "I know we may not have always seen eye to eye Regina, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

And then, mercifully, the teacher left Regina sitting alone, the picture and her words still mocking her.

**

Emma climbed up onto a stool of the bar a block away from her apartment and waited for the bartender to come serve her. She'd called Dr. Rhodes after yet another night of strange dreams and flashes that she couldn't quite understand and he had agreed that she could drink now, but only in moderation. It wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear, but at this point, she'd take anything over nothing. She'd learned over the years that turning to alcohol to dull her pain was not the best plan there was, but it was still hard to break old habits and with all the uncertainty, she just needed something to take the edge off.

The dreams and visions had begun to really unsettle her, especially after last night. Regina and Henry had featured heavily in them. There was a flash where she was clutching Henry to her as tight as she could while they were dangling by a wire. When she'd woken up from that, her heart had been pounding so rapidly that she'd had to take several deep breaths to calm herself down. The flashes with Regina grabbing her arm and begging for help had also continued, but another moment had been added to them. This time, Regina had leaned in close to her, so close Emma could feel her breath on her face. When she'd woken up from that dream, she'd needed to calm her heart for an entirely different reason.

"What can I get you?"

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts away, Emma looked up, surprised to see the young woman with long black hair streaked with red standing in front of her. "Um." She blinked, and the woman was suddenly gone, replaced with a male bartender who was looking at her strangely. "Whatever the strongest thing you've got is." She muttered.

The bartender continued to eye her for a few moments before he finally moved to get her drink. Emma scrubbed her face over her hands. This had to stop.

Just as the bartender set her drink down in front of her, she felt a hand fall on her thigh.

"So, what's a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this all alone?" A male voice came to her as she felt the hand begin to squeeze.

Before she even had time to fully realize what she was doing, Emma had yanked the guy's hand off her thigh and twisted his arm behind him, slamming his head down onto the bar. Jamming her elbow down into the center of his back, she grabbed the drink and downed it in one gulp.

"He's paying." She told the bartender as she set the empty glass back down. The bartender just watched her, not making any moves.

"Next time, keep your hands to yourself, or you won't have a hand, got it, asshole?" Emma hissed in his ear before she released him and walked away, never looking back.

Her hands shook the entire way back to her apartment. It took her three tries to get her door unlocked and two more to relock it after. Once safely inside, she collapsed on the couch and found her hand reaching out for the cell phone that was sitting on the coffee table.

Clicking into the contacts, she scrolled over the only two names she had kept in the address book. She'd disconnected the number and deleted everything, but the two numbers that she couldn't bring herself to get rid of.

_Mary Margaret._

_Regina._

_Mary Margaret._

_Regina._

She watched as they flicked back and forth with the touch of a button. It would be so easy to just go to a pay phone and dial one of the numbers. To hear a voice that she found herself wanting to hear more and more.

_Mary Margaret._

Regina.

She pressed down hard on a button, watching as the phone screen went black. She tossed the phone back onto the coffee table and shut her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to block everything out yet again.  



	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, we arrive at what is my favorite chapter. I know that all of this has been Jossed, but as I said, this is an AU story and this is the backstory that I created.

Regina ran a hand over her face, trying to focus on the paperwork - the same damn paperwork and now it was really getting on her nerves - in front of her and pushing away the thoughts of the dreams she'd had the night before.

Once again, Emma Swan had invaded her subconscious, only this time, she hadn't died. Instead, Regina had watched, almost as though in an out of body experience, as the two times she had reached out to Emma and asked for help seemed to juxtapose themselves over each other into one vulnerable moment. She saw herself reach out and grab Emma's arm and then lean in so close that her breath mingled with Emma's.

"Help me." She'd murmured, staring into Emma's eyes.

And then, the woman had leaned closer, pressing her lips against Regina's. That was when the out of body experience had ended, and instead she'd felt everything about the kiss, until she'd woken up, gasping. When she'd tried to go back to sleep, the dream had repeated but gone on longer, to the point after the kiss when Emma simply embraced Regina and Henry, the three of them hugging and holding onto each other as though they were a family. That dream had stuck with her even more, so much so that she had pulled Henry against her before sending him off to school, hoping that feeling his arms around her would release the feelings that were bottled up inside. But he had squirmed in her embrace, his arms hanging limply at his sides and then pulled away quickly, only worsening the ache inside her.

She'd tried to push the thoughts away, but they continued to run through her head. It was as though she had actually kissed Emma - the feelings the dream had created in her were so strong. And she still found herself longing for the woman's embrace.

Pushing away from the desk, she stalked out of the office and headed for her home. Henry looked up surprised as she stormed into the house, heading straight for her study. She grabbed a large bag from the study and then came back out, her eyes catching on Henry.

"Henry, get your things. I'm taking you to David and Kathryn's." She told him.

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"I have something I need to do tonight. It may take a while. I don't want to leave you alone, so you can stay with David and Kathryn."

Henry looked at her with suspicion, his eyes on the bag at her side, as though he was expecting her to be going on a killing spree with whatever it was that she had inside it. If only he knew what she was really doing. Regina shook her head. "Henry, I don't have time to argue with you. Get your things, now."

With a deep sigh and large frown, Henry did as he was told.

**

Kathryn had been surprised when she opened the door to Regina and Henry, but also pleased to be able to help her friend.

"Kathryn, I -"

Kathryn waved her words away. "Regina, we're happy to have Henry for a while. I know David will love having him around. We'll have dinner, make sure he does his homework for the weekend, the boys can play. It's no trouble."

"I don't know how long I'll be." Regina admitted, looking past Kathryn to where David and Henry were already settled at the kitchen table, leaning over Henry's math homework. A large part of Regina balked at the idea of leaving Henry with the man. She wanted nothing more than to pull Henry away from David, drag him back to the house, and lock them both away until these damnable thoughts and feelings went away. But Regina knew that they weren't going away. Not until she got Emma Swan back in Storybrooke.

And as much as she may have hated James in her previous life, in this one David was perfectly pliable and of no harm to her.

"Regina, go. We'll be fine." Kathryn assured. "If it gets to be too late, Henry can stay in the guest room. Please, stop worrying and go do what you need to do."

With a nod, Regina left. She didn't bother saying goodbye to Henry, not wanting to see the indifference in his eyes yet again.

**

She stood outside the door, her hand poised to knock for a good five minutes before she finally forced herself into action. She had never been timid in her old life, always moving forward even when the task was unpleasant - to say the least - and she would not allow herself to become weak now, even if that's exactly how she was beginning to feel.

Twenty-eight years in Storybrooke had chipped her armor and left her out of practice and vulnerable to attack. Emma Swan had swooped in and found her weaknesses, even if she hadn't known what she was doing. And now, she was at the blonde's mercy, even from thousands of miles away.

The door swung open and Mary Margaret stood inside, staring at Regina as though the woman was a horse head she'd found in her bed - full of fear and perhaps the tiniest bit of disgust. "Madam Mayor! What are you doing here?"

Regina swallowed, trying to force her throat to work. "May I come in?"

"Oh. Of course!" The teacher moved quickly to the side, allowing Regina to enter into the space that she had never before set foot in.

As soon as she was inside, Regina regretted her decision. She shouldn't have come here. This was the very definition of insanity - the whole thing. Everything that had happened since Emma's accident was. And to come here of all places - if she was really going to do this, she should've made Mary Margaret come to the house.

But the door closed under Mary Margaret's hand with a quiet click, and all chance of escape seemed to go with it. She wondered, idly, if this was how Rumpel had felt when he'd been locked in the dungeon - caged and restless and ready to lash out at any moment.

"Regina?" Her name was so full of questions - what was she doing there? Why had she sought out Mary Margaret? Could the teacher even refer to her by her first name?

She turned at the sound, her eyes catching a framed photo on a side table. Without acknowledging Mary Margaret, she moved over and picked up the photo, staring at it. It was of Emma and Mary Margaret, wearing matching smiles, their arms around each other. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of Emma's face.

"Regina?" Mary Margaret asked again, moving closer to the mayor.

Regina finally pulled her eyes away from the picture, meeting Mary Margaret's gaze. She turned the photo toward the woman. "You miss her."

Mary Margaret frowned. "Of course I miss her. Regina, what -"

"Strangely enough," Regina sighed, "I find myself missing her, too." It was the easiest of the things she needed to confess, so she allowed it to slip out first. Practice for what was to come.

Mary Margaret continued to look at her strangely, still confused as to what the mayor was doing in her home.

"She's in California, you know."

"What?" It was the first that Mary Margaret had heard that.

"She decided to trade one life for another. I can't say I blame her for that." Regina set the photo down with a finality, moving away from it and towards the small, worn couch in the living room. She imagined Emma lying sprawled on it. It was almost as though she could still see her there - a ghost of a memory, continuing to haunt her.

"Regina, why - I mean - "

"She disconnected her phone, as you well know, but I have her address. I know where she lives. But I can't go and get her. I can't bring her back here."

"You want to bring her back?" Mary Margaret moved even closer. "But I thought you wanted her gone?"

Regina laughed. "I thought so, too. It's only now that I'm realizing what it is that has been lost - now that it's so far out of my reach."

Mary Margaret studied Regina, trying to gauge what was going on with the woman. It was clear that she was upset, as she had been the night before. "Well, maybe you can't go get her - which I understand, I mean, you're the mayor, you have so many things to do here in Storybrooke - but there's nothing that's stopping me. If you give me her address, I could go and -"

Regina laughed again. It was humorless and dark. "No, you couldn't. You couldn't go anymore than I could. Don't you see, Miss Blanchard? Henry was right. You can't leave. No one can leave but Emma herself."

Mary Margaret reached out and touched Regina's arm. "Regina, have you been drinking?"

Regina pulled away from the brunette, laughing again, almost hysterical this time. "You think I'm drunk? Of course you do. God, I wish I were. But no, Miss Blanchard, I haven't been drinking. I assure you that I'm perfectly sober."

"Regina, you aren't making any sense. I think that you're tired and -"

"Yes." Regina nodded suddenly. "Yes. I am. I am tired."

"Okay. Well, why don't you -"

"I am tired of these lies and I am tired of these dreams and I am tired of my son looking at me with nothing but hate and indifference."

"Regina, I'm sorry, but I -"

Regina laughed again. "You don't know how often I wished that you would say that. Two little words. I'm sorry. That's all I really wanted, you know. Just for you to be sorry. But you weren't. You weren't sorry and I realized that if you weren't sorry, weren't even the least bit remorseful, then it meant that you'd never truly cared. So you see, they got it all wrong. It wasn't me who was pretending, it was you."

Mary Margaret moved slowly toward the phone, her eyes on Regina as though she was a trapped, wounded animal that could lash out at any time. It was a strange look to see on her face - so frightened. One thing Snow had never been was frightened of her. She'd always been defiant and so damn stubborn. "Regina, I'm just going to call Dr. Hopper. I think that maybe -"

"No." Regina's voice stopped Mary Margaret right in her tracks. It was cruel and calculating. "I am not crazy. And neither is my son."

She reached into the bag hanging at her side and pulled out the book, opening it to the page that showed The Queen casting the curse - her in the center as the world swirled around her.

"What are you talking about?" Mary Margaret whispered, staring at the picture that Regina was thrusting in front of her.

"You can't leave. I can't leave. No one can leave Storybrooke. We're all trapped here because of me. Because of the curse."

Mary Margaret's eyes flew up to Regina's, wide with fear. "Regina, what -"

"My son is far smarter than he should be. But then, I guess I have you to thank for helping him to figure it out. You're the one who gave him the book, after all. It seems that everything comes back to you," Regina stared at her, dark eyes swirling with far too many emotions for Mary Margaret to have been able to comprehend them on a good day, let alone now, "Snow."

At the name, Mary Margaret stepped back as though Regina had physically struck her. "What are you saying? Regina, listen to yourself. You - I think that you - you're - confused or - or upset or - "

Regina shook her head. "I should've known that you wouldn't listen." She turned her back on the teacher, facing the door. "You said you didn't believe it was the only story. You said you were here if I needed to talk. I guess they were just more lies."

Mary Margaret watched her walk to the door. She almost let Regina leave, but saw the way the older woman's hands shook as she reached for the door knob.

"Regina, wait. Don't leave." She moved closer. "I just - this is a lot for me to take in. What you're saying - Regina, what you're implying - "

Regina turned back, her eyes still dark. "I'm not implying anything, Miss Blanchard. I'm saying it plainly. For the first time, I am admitting it."

"That you're actually The Evil Queen? And that you cursed everyone in Fairy Tale Land and sent us all here?" Mary Margaret watched as Regina nodded. She held up one finger to the other woman and took a deep breath. "Okay, you're just going to have to give me one second here."

Then she turned quickly and headed for the kitchen. Regina could hear her rummaging around through cupboards, muttering to herself as she did. A few moments later she heard a triumphant "Ah ha!" and watched as the brunette came back into the room carrying a bottle and two glasses.

Regina blinked in surprise. "Jack Daniels?"

"It was Emma's." Mary Margaret explained as she put the glasses down and poured a healthy amount of the alcohol into both glasses. She handed one to Regina. "If you're not drunk right now, then I think I need to be."

Regina watched in something akin to shock as Mary Margaret tossed the drink back. Mary Margaret coughed just a bit, then looked up at Regina, blinking. She reached for the bottle, but Regina's hand closed over hers.

"I think one drink is enough for you right now. While you may want to be drunk for this, I'd like you to be sober."

Mary Margaret nodded. "Okay. Okay, so… " she looked at Regina, "go ahead."

Regina studied her for a few moments before she tossed back her own drink. After the alcohol had burned its way down her throat, she cleared it slightly and then began to speak. "I don't even know where to begin."

"How about somewhere easy? Henry believes that the book is true and that everyone here in town is a fairy tale character. You're saying that's true?"

Regina nodded.

"So you really are The Evil Queen?"

Regina laughed bitterly. "My name was Regina there as well. But the book has regulated me to simply The Evil Queen. Far easier to hate me if I have no name."

"Right." Mary Margaret murmured. "So you're - Regina, The Queen - and I'm…"

"Snow White."

"Snow White." Mary Margaret tried the name out on her tongue. It shouldn't have been such a surprise - Henry had been telling her she was Snow White for a while now - but it still felt foreign and not at all real. "Like poisoned apple, glass coffin Snow White?"

"Enchanted apple." Regina replied quickly with a brief roll of her eyes. "And as for the coffin, you can blame that on those dwarves you insisted on cavorting with. I certainly wouldn't have put you in one. I'd have had you in a pine box, six feet under."

"No, you wouldn't have." Mary Margaret replied shaking her head, as though it was the truest thing she'd ever known.

"You think you know me now?" Regina's voice was bitter.

Mary Margaret shook her head again softly, but she kept her eyes on Regina. "You were the one who made it a point to say that the apple was enchanted, not poisoned." She pointed out. "And if you really had wanted me dead why not kill me here in Storybrooke? Or are you somehow prohibited from killing me?"

Regina moved closer suddenly, her fingers wrapped around Mary Margaret's neck, squeezing tightly. Mary Margaret could feel Regina's fingernails biting into her skin and she tried to gasp in air, but her wind pipe was effectively closed off.

"Does it seem like I'm prohibited from killing you?" Regina asked as she finally let go and allowed the teacher to draw breath.

"No." Mary Margaret said when she could breathe again. "At least not by magic. But there's something else there. Something that's stopping you."

"You know nothing." Regina spat.

"You're right. I don't. I don't know anything about our former life - if there was one - because I can't remember it. Because you cursed us all. But I know that there's more to the story than you being evil and hating me because I was pretty. So what is the real story, Regina?"

Regina said nothing, just continued to look at Mary Margaret. The teacher moved forward and picked up the book from where it had fallen on the floor. She flipped through the pages, stopping when she reached the picture she had seen at the diner. She held it up for Regina to see, but the older woman looked away.

"I was right, wasn't I? At the diner. It wasn't pretend. You did care about her - me."

Regina turned back to look at her and Mary Margaret saw the sheen of tears. "No. I didn't care about her." She glanced at the picture, Snow on her lap. "I loved her."

The words were so quiet, Mary Margaret thought that perhaps she had imagined them. But the single tear that slipped down Regina's cheek was enough to tell her that she hadn't.

"So then what happened, Regina? How did you - how did we - go from that," she motioned to the book, to the picture that Regina couldn't escape from, "to this?" She waved her hand between them, searching Regina's face for some kind of an answer. "With a poisoned apple and a curse and god knows what else in between. What happened?"

Regina closed her eyes for a long time before she opened them again, moving over and pouring them each another drink. Then she sank down on the couch, trying not to imagine that she could smell Emma's perfume still lingering on it. "She -" Regina looked at her and stopped. "You were twelve the first time I met you. Dark hair and pale skin, with these big bright eyes that showed every emotion. It was easy to see why everyone loved you. It was easy to love you too. Especially after -"

Regina's throat closed as memories began to bombard her. Memories that she had kept locked away, to save herself from the pain that they caused.

"After what?" Mary Margaret leaned forward and covered Regina's hands with her own, squeezing them gently. This time Regina didn't pull away.

"My mother was a powerful woman. She always got what she wanted. And she wanted her daughter to marry the king. So she did what she had to do to make it happen."

There was something there, in Regina's voice that told Mary Margaret that her mother had done horrible things, but she didn't elaborate on them and Mary Margaret couldn't bring herself to ask. "After your own mother's death, your father's kingdom began to suffer. He was running out of money, there were wars. He needed a miracle. And that's exactly what my mother promised him."

Now Regina did pull her hands away, getting up from the couch and pacing back and forth in front of Mary Margaret. "If the king took me as his wife, I would make sure the kingdom had all the gold it could ever wish for."

"How?" Mary Margaret leaned forward, not wanting to miss a moment of the spell that the older woman was weaving with her words.

"By spinning straw into gold, of course." Regina replied, her fingers coming up to touch the thin gold chain that now hung around her neck. Emma's pendant gleamed against her skin.

Mary Margaret blinked. "Wait. So that makes you -"

"The miller's daughter." Regina mock bowed. "Yes. Of course, I knew nothing of my mother's promises. I was young - in my early twenties - and naïve about just how… evil my mother could be. She dressed me up in a fancy gown and off we went to the palace to see the king. My father kissed me goodbye as though it were any other trip on any other day. I didn't know that I should be afraid."

Regina's eyes went even darker than normal, taking on a far off look. "When I got to the palace, I was presented to your father. He spoke of my mother's promise - the one I knew nothing of - and nodded to the guards and before I knew what was happening, they were pulling me away from my mother and dragging me to a room in the high tower, filled with straw. I begged and screamed for my mother to stop them, to let me go home. I tried to tell them that I couldn't do it, that I didn't have the power. But my mother had made her promise, and I had to either live up to it or die."

"Surely she wouldn't have allowed you to die there?" Mary Margaret asked breathlessly.

Regina's smile was broken. "You don't know my mother."

For long minutes there was silence as Mary Margaret tried to process everything and Regina tried to force the memories back down. She jumped when she felt Mary Margaret's hands on her shoulders.

"You don't have to keep going." Mary Margaret said softly.

It was an out. She could take it, leave this house, and never speak of any of this again. But August's words continued to echo in her head and she knew that if she'd come this far, she needed to finish it. Maybe she'd never find redemption, maybe she'd be eternally cursed, haunted by Emma and her sins, but she had to at least try. "Yes, I do."

Mary Margaret nodded and gently steered Regina back toward the couch. Looking at the woman in front of her, it was almost impossible to believe that she'd ever been The Evil Queen - not when she looked so lost and broken.

"I was scared," her voice was quiet and Mary Margaret had to move closer on the couch to be able to make out all the words, "locked in that tower, knowing that I couldn't spin anything, let alone straw into gold. I sat there and cried and waited for my death. And then -"

She looked at Mary Margaret, her hand reaching out almost of its own accord to touch the younger woman's hair. "The door to the tower opened and in you walked."

"Me?"

"You had charmed the guards into letting you in to see me. You were always mischievous, always getting into something. You brought me bread and cheese and told me that I was beautiful. You gave me hope. And then the guards came and told you it was time to go. And I watched you leave and -" Mary Margaret squeezed her hand. "I knew I was going to die."

"But you didn't," the teacher said softly, "because of Rumpelstiltskin?"

Mary Margaret watched as a dark look passed over Regina's face at the mention of his name. She wondered who in town the man was, if he was even in the town.

"No. I didn't die then." Regina shook her head as though to clear it. "You know the story, of course. I was stupid and naïve and made a deal with him. He kept his end of it and spun the straw into gold all three nights. During the days I was free to roam around the palace. You were supposed to be having your lessons, but you kept sneaking away to see me. You told me all about the palace and how I would love living there. I believed you." Regina closed her eyes tightly. "After the third night, your father held up his end of the bargain and asked me to marry him. My mother was happy, your father was happy, you seemed happy. I told myself that I could be happy too. And so I accepted his proposal."

"You became Queen. But what of your deal with Rumpelstiltskin?"

Regina laughed darkly again. "What of it? I had signed my name without reading the fine print. He'd taken my necklace and my ring. I thought that was all that he really wanted. I pushed him out of my mind. I married your father and spent my days with you. I quickly came to love you, and you me. Or so I thought."

Again the darkness slid over Regina's features. What did I do, Mary Margaret wondered, to destroy everything?

"We shared secrets, told each other everything. You would come into my chambers and climb up on my lap," her hand motioned to the picture in the book that had found its way to the coffee table, "and we would talk for hours. I told you the truth about not being able to spin the gold. You swore you would keep my secret."

"But I didn't?" Mary Margaret frowned.

"Oh no. You kept that secret. Your betrayal came later."

"Regina -"

"Your father was still in love with your mother. I didn't blame him for that. I understood that he had married me to save his kingdom but that in his heart he was still married to her. I cared for him, mostly I think because of the way we both loved you so dearly, but I didn't love him any more than he loved me. And so I slept in my own bed chambers at night and never -"

"You were never intimate with him." Mary Margaret blinked. "It was all just a marriage of convenience. Did I know?"

"Not fully, no. You knew we slept apart - you'd often sneak into my chambers at night and ask me to tell you stories - but you were too young to fully understand. Your father was never cruel to me, in public we appeared happy. Everyone believed the lie, even you."

"You must have been lonely."

The tears were back in Regina's eyes. "I was. My mother left me there and she kept my father from coming for me. She was sent a monthly stipend from the castle and that's all that she really wanted. My father sent an apple tree to remind me of home. We planted it in the courtyard and I spent my time tending it and being with you."

"We planted it?"

"You and I. You were mesmerized by it when it arrived and begged to help me plant and tend it. I wanted to make you happy and so I agreed."

"What happened, Regina?" Mary Margaret's voice was soft and filled with tears. "If you loved me so much, then why -"

"I was lonely. And so I took a lover." Regina's voice was emotionless, but Mary Margaret could see the emotions swirling rapidly through her eyes. "No one knew, not even you. But I loved him and he loved me. Truly. And I knew it was dangerous - it would be treason if we were caught and both of us would be killed - but my love for him encompassed almost everything and it didn't matter to me anymore. I only wanted to be with him as often as I could and as long as I could." Emotion slowly started to creep back in as Regina continued. "He asked me to run away with him. He said that we could go someplace where no one would ever find us. Build a little cottage in the woods and stay there together for the rest of our lives."

"Did you do it?"

"No." Regina stood up and moved away from Mary Margaret, refusing to face her. "I told him that I couldn't do it. Because I couldn't leave you."

"Wh -"

"You'd already lost one mother. I wouldn't put you through losing another. How foolish I was."

"I -" She honestly didn't know what to say to any of this.

"We kept on in secret. And then -" Regina's voice broke.

Mary Margaret moved to her, pulling her into a hug that Regina tried to pull away from, but Mary Margaret held fast. "You can stop. I know that I had to have done something horrible. You don't have to -"

Regina pulled away. "Rumpel made good on the final part of his deal."

Mary Margaret looked confused, until everything suddenly clicked into place. "Oh my god. Regina."

"I hadn't even realized - and I woke up and - the pain and the blood. I thought I could save her but -" Tears finally poured down Regina's cheeks as she recalled the tiny, barely formed body and what had seemed at the time like rivers of blood. "He took her before I ever got to have her."

This time when Mary Margaret embraced her, Regina clutched onto the other woman, crying like she hadn't since that day. When she finally composed herself, Mary Margaret pulled away. She returned with a box of tissues and another glass of alcohol for both of them.

Regina downed the liquid, then set about cleaning herself up with trembling hands. "You snuck into my chamber and found me. You were fifteen then and hadn't come into my rooms at night in months. I don't know why you did that night. Maybe you heard me crying. You didn't understand at first - thought someone had tried to assassinate me. I assured you it wasn't the case, tried to make you go, but you wouldn't leave me. And then you realized."

Her dark eyes were blank now, almost dead, as she spoke and Mary Margaret couldn't stop her own tears from falling. "You helped me clean up. We wrapped - we wrapped her and -" Regina thought of the apple tree, the thing she loved so much, the symbol of her home and her father, the place where she and her lover would often meet under the cover of darkness, the place where she had buried her child.

"I begged you not to tell your father. I made you promise me you wouldn't. I knew he would know that it couldn't have been his child and -" She swallowed and refused to finish the sentence, but Mary Margaret knew how it would end. "You promised. You stayed with me all night. You held me and whispered stories to me and tried to soothe my pain. And I believed you and I loved you all the more. If I had lost my daughter, at least I still had you."

Mary Margaret reached out again, but Regina moved away from her. "In the morning, you left my chamber and went straight to your father. You never returned to my side."

"No." It was a whisper. Regina didn't even hear it.

"He killed my lover in front of me. Tore out his heart and presented it to me in a box, as though it was a gift. I wanted nothing more than for him to kill me, too. I'd already lost everything. My child, the man I loved, you. There was nothing else."

"Regina, surely I didn't mean to hurt you. I - I didn't know about your lover. I thought it was my father's child and he had a right -"

The change was so quick that Mary Margaret couldn't even comprehend it. But in just a second, The Evil Queen was standing in front of her and Mary Margaret knew to her very bones that Regina was telling the truth. "He had no right! You had no right! You promised! And you betrayed me!" She was snarling, hatred in her eyes and voice. Mary Margaret shrunk back.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, as though the words could somehow save her now. "I'm so sorry."

"No, you're not." Regina's voice was softer now, but still cold and cruel. Still, The Evil Queen was gone again and Mary Margaret felt herself breathe again. "You weren't sorry then and you aren't sorry now."

Regina moved away again, back to the bottle and the glasses. She poured the remaining alcohol in her glass and swallowed it, hoping for it to numb her, to send her back to the state of emptiness that she'd been living in for years. But it didn't work this time.

"He didn't kill me, as you can see," she turned almost as though she were a model. "He left me alive to suffer because he still believed I could spin straw into gold and he might need me down the line. I had to stay in that palace, to see you every day and know what you had done, what you had cost me. And you weren't even affected by it. You didn't even care. You wouldn't even look at me anymore. I had loved you as if you were my own and you just looked at me with indifference – as though I'd never meant anything to you at all." Regina looked at Mary Margaret, but it was as though she wasn't even seeing her. "Henry looks at me that way now."

"No. Regina -"

"I thought of ending it myself, but by then the blackness had started to seep in - I really was my mother's daughter - and I realized - why kill myself when it would be so much sweeter to make you suffer, as I had suffered? And so I began to plot. And you know the rest."

After Regina finished her story, silence descended between them. For a long time, Mary Margaret sat, trying to process everything, and Regina stared out the window, willing all the memories to be pushed away again. Finally, with shaky steps, she turned towards the door.

"Regina?" Mary Margaret called out to her. "Where are you going?"

Regina turned back to look at her, a hardened expression on her face. "I have done what I came here to do. Now I need to go get my son and go home."

Mary Margaret was up and across the room before Regina could even blink. "Regina, it's late and you've got to be exhausted. Plus, you've been drinking. I can't let you drive like this, and I certainly won't let you walk."

"And what, pray tell, do you suggest I do?" The walls had all been built back up so quickly, Mary Margaret realized as she looked at the mayor. Vulnerability was not something Regina was in any way comfortable with and now she was fortifying herself even more against any possible attacks from Mary Margaret.

"Stay here." The teacher spoke softly, reaching out and squeezing Regina's arm gently. "I've got a spare room. Spend the night and in the morning we can talk more, if you want."

Regina's eyes narrowed at her, trying to figure out her motive. "What about Henry? Should I just abandon him at the Nolans?"

Mary Margaret blinked for a moment at the revelation of where Henry was, but actually thinking on it, it wasn't that much of a surprise. "Of course not. But I'm sure Kathryn and David wouldn't mind having him overnight. It's not a school night, so there's no need to worry about getting him somewhere in the morning. I'll call Kathryn and ask if Henry can stay, okay? It's not abandoning him. I'm sure he'll think it's an adventure."

Regina looked ready to protest, so Mary Margaret squeezed her arm again. "You came to me, Regina. Please, just - let me do this?"

Regina just stared at her for a while before she finally allowed the exhaustion to show. "Fine."

Mary Margaret offered her a small smile and led her up the stairs to the spare room - Emma's room. Both of them knew what it was, but neither commented.

"The bathroom is shared, but I won't need it again tonight, so feel free to get a shower. Towels and things are in the closet in the bathroom. There should be some extra pajamas in the chest of drawers. If you need anything else, just call me, okay? I'm going to go down and give the Nolans a call, then I'll come back up to check on you."

Regina slumped down on the bed and looked up at the woman in the doorway as though she wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. Mary Margaret just offered her another smile before gently closing the door behind her.

Once she was finally alone, Regina kicked off her shoes and fell back on the bed. It was soft and smelled of Emma. When she closed her eyes, Regina could almost imagine that the blonde was there with her. It scared her, just how comforting that thought was. The emotions came like a tidal wave, crashing over her and bringing with them the salty sting of tears. Although she had cried during her story, clinging to Mary Margaret for comfort, even then she had done her best to hold back the emotion and fight the tears. But now, lying on Emma Swan's bed, Regina let them take her, and she sobbed against the pillows as she hadn't since that horrible night and day all those years ago.  



	12. Chapter 12

Mary Margaret felt her heart skip a beat when David's voice came over the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, David. It's Mary Margaret." She did her best to keep her voice steady.

"Mary Margaret. What's wrong? Why are you calling?" David sounded worried.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just calling for Regina actually. She won't be able to pick up Henry tonight and was hoping that he could stay with you and Kathryn. If you didn't mind."

"Of course he can stay." David assured quickly. "But is everything alright with Regina?"

Mary Margaret swallowed. The truth was that nothing seemed to be right with Regina, but she couldn't exactly tell David that. "Yes, everything's fine. It's just getting to be late and she wanted Henry to be able to get a good night's sleep and not have to stay up late or be woken up in the middle of the night."

David chuckled a little. "Yeah, he's been fighting sleep for a while now. I think he may have actually conked out on Kathryn already. Tell Regina not to worry. He's more than welcome to stay here and I'll make sure he doesn't run away."

The words struck Mary Margaret. "Run away?"

"Oh, you know, it was just a joke," David lowered his voice, "because of him running away to find Emma before. But on second thought, you shouldn't tell Regina that. It'll only worry her."

"Right." Mary Margaret nodded, but her mind was already going a mile a minute. "Thank you, David. Good night."

"Good night, Mary Margaret."

Mary Margaret disconnected the phone and sank down on the couch. "Henry can leave." She whispered to the darkness.

She stood up, ready to head up to check on Regina and go to bed, when her eye caught on the book still laying open on the coffee table. She looked down at the picture and chewed her lip slightly. "It's all true?" She asked no one. "How can that be?"

She scooped the book up into her arms and headed for the stairs.

**

She could hear the sobs that Regina wasn't even trying to muffle as soon as her feet hit the second floor landing. The sound tore at her heart. She'd never held a particular fondness for the mayor, but she'd never wish pain on her, and after hearing Regina's story - no matter how unbelievable it was - she knew that not only was the woman in pain, but that a lot of that pain had stemmed from something she had done, however unintentionally.

Regina's words came back to her as she stood outside the door. _"You stayed with me all night. You held me and whispered stories to me and tried to soothe my pain. And I believed you and I loved you all the more. In the morning, you left my chamber and went straight to your father. You never returned to my side."_

Tonight, Mary Margaret decided, would be different. She gently pushed the door open and walked into the room quietly. Regina was curled into the fetal position, sobbing against the pillow for fair. Mary Margaret placed the book on the bedside table, and sat down on the bed, reaching out and running a hand carefully through the dark locks of hair.

Regina flinched at the touch and Mary Margaret watched as she tried to reign herself in. "Hey, don't. It's okay. Just let it go." She whispered, continuing to stroke the mayor's hair.

Regina looked up with tear filled eyes at her, searching as though for some kind of ulterior motive. Mary Margaret made sure her face was as open as she could make it, trying to show that she had no motive at all, except to offer comfort where Regina so obviously needed it. Regina must have seen that too, or else was too emotionally drained to fight it, because her shoulders slumped again and she continued crying.

Mary Margaret wasn't sure how much time had passed until Regina had finally cried herself out, but she knew that it was quite a while. After the sobs had finally passed, she removed her hand and spoke quietly. "You should change out of those clothes. They can't be comfortable. I'm going to go to the bathroom, get you some tissues and a warm washcloth for your face. Why don't you put on a pair of pajamas while I'm gone? Then you can go to sleep."

She got off the bed carefully and watched from the bathroom doorway until Regina also moved, as though on autopilot, over to the chest of drawers. Then she pulled the door shut to give the woman her privacy.

She moved through the bathroom and into her room, changing into her own pajamas and grabbing a box of tissues, before moving back to the bathroom where she ran a wash cloth under hot water and also grabbed a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. Once she had everything together, she knocked lightly on the bathroom room. "Regina? Can I come in?"

"Yes." The mayor's voice was hoarse, probably from all the crying.

Mary Margaret moved back into the room to see Regina in the middle of the bed, a pair of flannel pajamas on, her hair incredibly mussed, and her makeup smudged beyond repair. She looked so small and broken - nothing like the strong, powerful woman she knew Regina as, or the evil villainess Henry tried to paint her as - and Mary Margaret wondered if this was the picture of the woman that Snow had seen on the night she miscarried. Her heart ached for everything that had happened to lead Regina back to this place, hurting and broken with only her for comfort.

"Here," she said softly as she sat back down on the bed, handing over the box of tissues and wash cloth. "This should help you clean up a bit."

Regina dabbed at tears and blew her nose before she finally scrubbed her face with the warm wash cloth. She frowned at the makeup stains on the white wash cloth but Mary Margaret took it back from her before she could mention it. She then handed the mayor the aspirin and glass of water. "I thought you could use these, too."

Regina swallowed the pills and then drank the rest of the water quickly. "Thank you." She finally said and Mary Margaret smiled at her. "You're welcome. Now, why don't you get under the covers and try to sleep?"

Regina watched as the younger woman got up from the bed and went back to the bathroom, only to reappear a moment later, pushing the covers back and climbing into the bed.

"What are you doing?" Regina tried to sound angry, but to Mary Margaret it sounded almost panicked instead.

The teacher just shrugged. "I'm staying with you." Her tone brooked no argument. "Get some sleep, Regina."

Mary Margaret smiled to herself as Regina didn't fight her, but instead slipped under the covers on her side. She rolled so that her back was to Mary Margaret. The teacher watched her for a moment, until her breathing began to even out, and then picked up Henry's book. She was going to watch over Regina tonight and finally read the book that had started this whole mess. The book that she had possessed, but never read.

**

Mary Margaret spent a good portion of the night reading the book, but she really didn't glean much new information from it. The beginnings were all of the usual stories that she'd always known, but she did find herself wondering who was who in regards to the town. It was towards the end where things began to pick up, with The Queen casting the curse, but the pages that she really wanted - the pages that dealt with the breaking of the curse and specifically with Emma - were gone.

She knew Henry and Emma had pulled them out and gotten rid of them and if she wanted any more information there was only one place she could really go. If what Regina said was true and Henry had been right about everything, then that meant he had also been right about Emma being her daughter - and the one to break the curse. Now Regina wanted Emma to come back, but she didn't know who or what Emma was. Would she still feel the same way if she knew? And how exactly was Emma supposed to break the curse? If it meant destroying Regina, was that really something that Mary Margaret wanted, now that she knew the woman's story? And how would Regina react if she told her that Henry could leave to go get Emma?

She was broken from her thoughts by movement on the other side of the bed. She looked over to see Regina rolling towards her, blinking against the light that had started coming through the window. For a few moments, Regina looked confused. "Snow?" She whispered, her voice still hoarse.

Mary Margaret offered her a smile. "Close."

Regina's eyes went wide and she sat up quickly, clutching the covers to her as though they could protect her. "What are you still doing here?"

"Staying." Was all the brunette said before she turned to the bedside table and handed Regina a mug. "I just made a fresh pot of coffee." When the older woman hesitated, Mary Margaret gave her another smile. "It's not poisoned, I promise."

Regina took a large sip and then eyed the woman beside her again. "Of course not. You made it, not me."

At the joke, Mary Margaret smiled even wider. While Regina seemed to be in a semi-good mood with her walls still lowered, Mary Margaret decided to broach what she knew could end up being a touchy subject. "I was thinking that I could go pick up Henry from the Nolans this morning."

She watched as Regina instantly transformed back into her hard self. "So that you can warn my son away from me?" Her voice was icy.

"So that you have time to go home and get cleaned up. I didn't think you'd want him - or anyone else - to see you like this."

Regina said nothing, just kept staring at her. "Regina, I know that you don't have many reasons to trust me, especially after what you told me last night, but I promise you that everything that went on last night is between you and me only. You came to me for a reason, you let me in for a reason, and whether you think so or not, I know how huge that was. I won't betray your trust. Not again."

Regina swallowed hard. "If you don't have him home in half an hour, I will call Sidney and have you arrested for kidnapping."

She'd hoped for a little more time than that, but she also understood Regina's reluctance and knew that she needed to take what she could get. "Of course, Regina."

"Fine."

Mary Margaret gave another smile and then climbed out of the bed. "I'm going to go get ready. I'll use the bathroom downstairs, if you'd like to use this one. Feel free to take your time though. Enjoy your coffee."

Regina watched her go, still feeling uneasy and unsure after what she'd revealed the night before. But Mary Margaret seemed to be treating her as though nothing was that different - except perhaps the teacher's feelings for her, which seemed to have become more positive rather than less as Regina had expected.

Could it really be that simple? Could August have been right? Was redemption possible even for the most evil, if they truly wanted it? Regina was starting to think that maybe - just maybe - it was.

**

"Mary Margaret." David was surprised to see her standing in his doorway.

"Hello, David." She smiled at him, trying her best not to think about the fact that he was apparently her Prince Charming. She swirled the ring around her finger in nervousness. "I, um, I'm here to pick up Henry."

"What?" Henry's voice sounded from inside the house.

Mary Margaret peeked around David to where Henry was standing, looking shocked. "I'm here to take you home, Henry." She smiled at him.

"Why?" A frown marred Henry's face. "Is my mom okay?"

And no matter how much he tried to act indifferent, in that moment Mary Margaret could see the love and worry clearly spelled out across his little face. "She's fine, Henry. She just had a late night last night and I volunteered to come pick you up because I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Henry relaxed, although he still looked worried. "Am I in trouble?"

Mary Margaret laughed. "No, of course not." Then she turned to David. "Regina really did send me. You can call her if you'd like."

David shook his head. "I believe you, Mary Margaret. I know you wouldn't lie."

"Thank you." Mary Margaret smiled at him, then purposely turned her attention to Henry. No matter who David may have been in his past life, in this life he was married to someone else. And until she got more of a handle on the situation, Mary Margaret knew she needed to leave him alone. "Henry, you ready?"

"Sure, Miss Blanchard." He smiled. "Bye, Mr. Nolan. Bye, Mrs. Nolan." He called in the direction of the kitchen where Mary Margaret assumed Kathryn still was.

Kathryn's voice mixed with David's as they both wished him goodbye.

"So, what do you need to talk to me about?" Henry asked, as they started walking toward his house.

Mary Margaret checked her watch and then looked down at the boy with a smile. "It's actually about your book. I was wondering if you'd found it yet?"

Henry frowned. "No. But it's not like it really matters anymore."

"Why not?" Mary Margaret pressed, even though she knew what the answer would be.

"It doesn't matter. You don't believe."

Mary Margaret stopped and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. "Henry, tell me. Please."

Henry shook his head and shrugged off her hands, moving past her. "It doesn't matter because Emma's gone and she's the only one who could break the curse. Without her, we're all just stuck."

"What did your book say about Emma?"

Henry looked conflicted between wanting to talk about Operation Cobra and knowing that Mary Margaret wouldn't believe him. "She's the savior. She's the only one who can break the curse. Snow White and Prince Charming knew that, which is why they put her in the magic wardrobe - to send her here to save us."

"But The Queen, she didn't know that?"

"No. She had no idea what the baby would do. Only Snow White and Prince Charming knew."

"But how did w-they find out?" Mary Margaret corrected herself quickly, glad when Henry didn't catch the slip up.

"I don't know. The book just said that she was the savior and they knew and that's why they had the wardrobe made. They were planning on sending Snow through while she was still pregnant, but the baby was born before they could. So they knew they had to send her by herself."

"And your book told you all this?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Yes. It said that they had to put her in the wardrobe to send her here, to our world, so that she could grow up and find us and break the curse when she was 28."

"And you believe that Emma is that savior. And that I'm Snow White."

"You are!" Henry sighed. "And Mr. Nolan is Prince Charming. He was wounded when he was trying to get Emma to the wardrobe, which is why he was in the coma until Emma got here. She changed everything. But when she left, it all stopped."

"So if Emma were to come back…" Mary Margaret let the sentence hang, waiting for Henry to fill in the blanks.

"Then she could destroy The Evil Queen and break the curse."

Mary Margaret frowned just slightly. "And that's what the book said? That Emma had to destroy the Queen to break the curse?"

"Well, no. Not exactly." Henry kicked at the sidewalk before he looked back up at her. "But the book said she was the White Knight, the one who would break the curse, and how else could it break, but by destroying the one who caused everyone to be cursed in the first place? Good has to defeat evil."

Mary Margaret looked up, seeing the mayor's house come into view. She knew she didn't have much more time to talk to Henry. "What if there was another way to break it? A way that didn't involve destroying The Queen? Could that be possible?"

It was Henry's turn to frown. "Like what?"

"I don't know. But - what if The Queen wasn't really evil?"

"She is, Miss Blanchard." He said it with such conviction. He truly believed that The Queen - and by extension, Regina - was evil. Mary Margaret remembered Regina's tears the night before and the way that she had cried over Snow and Henry's indifference towards her. Her heart clenched.

"What was her name, Henry?" Mary Margaret found herself asking, her voice shaking and Regina's words from the night before echoing in her head. _"Far easier to hate me if I have no name."_

"What?"

She cleared her throat and spoke more clearly this time. "What was her name? What was her story?"

"She's The Evil Queen. She doesn't have a story. She tried to kill Snow White and she cursed everyone. That's the story."

"What if it wasn't?" Mary Margaret stopped. They were just outside the mayoral mansion now. She knew she needed to get Henry into the house, but she couldn't let the conversation end like this. "What if that wasn't the whole story? What if something happened to make her behave the way she did? And what if she wanted redemption now?"

Henry looked at her, puzzled. "Miss Blanchard, you're not making sense."

Mary Margaret sighed as she watched the door to the house open and Regina step out onto the porch. She looked exactly as she always looked - perfect and pristine, put together and in charge. As Henry started towards the door with a frown, Mary Margaret grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Henry, why could you leave?" She asked, quickly. "You said no one could leave, but Emma did and you did."

Henry shrugged. "We weren't there when the curse was cast. The rules don't apply to us."

Mary Margaret nodded and then released Henry, walking behind him to the porch where Regina was waiting.

She raised an eyebrow at the teacher as she looked at her watch. She tried to sound hard, but Mary Margaret could sense the hint of teasing as she spoke. "I was about to call Sidney."

Henry pushed through the door and went straight for the stairs. Mary Margaret watched him go before turning to take in the wounded look in Regina's eyes. "I have no doubt."

Regina shifted almost uncomfortably in the doorway. "Miss Blanchard -"

"I'm pretty sure you can call me Mary Margaret now." The teacher smiled. "Or, you know -"

"No." Regina shook her head. "Mary Margaret perhaps but the other - no. Not when anyone could overhear."

Mary Margaret nodded. Regina may have confessed all to her, but she still wanted - and in fact needed - everything to remain unaffected.

"Can I talk to you?" She implored the other woman, knowing that she would probably be shot down. "I just have a few things that I need to discuss and then I'll leave and not mention it again if that's what you want, but -"

"Fine." Regina moved aside. "In my study."

Mary Margaret waited until Regina had closed and locked the door before she spoke. "There's something I don't understand. After everything you said last night, I understand why you did what you did. But the curse - the curse doesn't make sense to me. Banishing us all here - what was your plan? Why did you do it?"

Regina sighed as she sank down on the sofa. "I wanted my happy ending. And I thought I could have it here. Ruling over all of you, with none of you having any memory of the past, changed into meek little versions of your former selves. I planned to -" She stopped.

"What, Regina?"

"When I found out that you were pregnant it was like your husband had actually succeeded in throwing his sword through my heart. Once again, you had everything and I had nothing. But the curse could change all that. The curse could take away all your happiness and give it to me." Regina looked up and met Mary Margaret's gaze. "But you foiled me again."

"How?"

"The child got away." Was all that Regina would say.

Mary Margaret frowned. Henry said Regina didn't know that the baby was supposed to break the curse, so why would it foil her plans if they child disappeared or not? Wouldn't it be better for Regina, knowing that Snow would more than likely never find her child again? "But why would you care if -"

Regina raised one eyebrow, and suddenly it clicked. "You were going to take her."

"I sent my guards in to find the child, to bring her to me before the curse took over, so that when we arrived she would be with me and you would have no memory of her. What better revenge could I have than taking your child and your lover from you, when you'd done the same thing to me?"

"I didn't take your child -" she started to protest, but she saw the fire and then the sadness in Regina's eyes.

"Not my biological child, no." Regina whispered and Mary Margaret realized that she had been talking about her - about Snow. Then Regina cleared her throat and shook her head, pushing the memories back. "But whatever you did, whatever magic you used, you got her away. And so even the fruition of the curse was tainted by you."

"Regina -" Mary Margaret had so many thoughts and questions swirling in her head and she had no idea what to say to the woman. Finally, she managed to grasp onto the one question that she felt safe asking. "Why do you want Emma to come back?"

Regina laughed and it sounded bitter just like it had the night before. Had it really only been the night before? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I honestly don't know. I just know that that woman is haunting my thoughts and my dreams and I find myself… bored without her." Regina sighed. "But it doesn't matter, because as I told you, she is out of my reach."

"What if she wasn't?"

Regina looked up at Mary Margaret quickly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if she wasn't out of reach? What if you could bring her back? Would you?"

"Yes." Regina appeared to be just as surprised as Mary Margaret by how quickly she had answered and how sure she had sounded.

"Even if she was my daughter?"

Those words seemed to freeze Regina. "Wh-what?"

"Would you still want to bring Emma back if you knew she was my - Snow's - daughter?"

"N-no." Regina shook her head, but Mary Margaret couldn't tell what she was saying no to. "She - she isn't. She can't be."

Mary Margaret reached out and squeezed Regina's arm. "According to Henry she is. Emma and I never believed it because we didn't believe he was right about the fairy tales but -"

"No." Regina pulled her arm away, moving toward the window. "Henry just wants to believe that."

"He hasn't been wrong about anything else yet." Mary Margaret's voice was soft.

"How does he know?" Regina asked, but her mind was already whirling to the pages that had been torn out of the book. The pages that had more than likely been torn out to keep her from finding out that Emma was the daughter of her sworn enemy. Henry had torn them out to protect Emma, to save her from Regina.

"Regina -"

"How does he know?" She spun around, fire in her eyes.

Mary Margaret flinched back just slightly, but Regina took no joy from the reaction as she normally would have. "He told Emma that it was in the book - that the baby girl's name was Emma and that she was sent through to this world by magic, to keep her safe." Mary Margaret kept the part about Emma being the so called savior out, knowing that if she mentioned it, Regina would never try to bring Emma back. But she might not try now either, she realized with a sinking heart. "Emma was found abandoned by the side of the road and Henry believes that it wasn't because her parents didn't want her but because they'd - we'd - wanted to save her from you." She finished softly.

"There are hundreds, probably thousands of girls named Emma -" Regina found herself saying.

Mary Margaret nodded slowly. "You're right. And Henry could be wrong. But if he isn't, would it change things?"

"I -" Regina faltered. She didn't know the answer to that question. Would it change things if Emma was Snow's daughter? Of course it would. But would it change Regina's desire to bring her back to Storybrooke? That wasn't so easily answered. At least not now.

Mary Margaret closed her eyes, wondering if she was doing the right thing, before she opened them again and looked at Regina. "It's your decision - your choice - Regina. But… there is a way to get her back."

"What?"

"Emma isn't the only person who can leave Storybrooke. Someone else can." Mary Margaret caught Regina's gaze. "Someone else already has once before."

And suddenly Regina realized exactly who Mary Margaret was referring to. "No."

"Yes." The teacher said softly. "Henry can leave Storybrooke."  



	13. Chapter 13

Mary Margaret had left just after reminding Regina about Henry's ability to leave Storybrooke. Mainly because Regina had thrown her out, angrily hissing "get out of my sight" while dragging her to the door. But the slamming of the door and the teacher's absence gave her no relief. Dark thoughts continued to swirl in her head.

August had promised redemption if she opened herself up. But once again, opening herself up to someone - to Snow, which made it burn and ache all the more - had only set her up for more heartbreak. Now she had the way to get Emma back, to regain what she had lost, but she would lose something more precious in the process.

Her relationship with Henry was already hanging on only by a thread. If she sent him after Emma, she would have to admit that he was the only one who could leave, which would prove all of his theories true. And then he would hate her more than he already did. He would leave and never come back and she would be alone, left without anyone just as she always had been.

That's what it all boiled down to in the end. Everyone left her. They either abandoned her - as her mother and Snow and Emma had done - or were ripped away from her - as her child and lover had been. But she was always left behind, with the ruins of the relationships and the knowledge that she would never truly be happy.

And then there was the other revelation - Emma was Snow's daughter. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew that if it had been in Henry's book it had to be true. It was the perfect irony really - the child that she had adopted to try and fill the aching hole in her soul was the grandson of the woman she held responsible for that hole in the first place. And the woman plaguing her - awakening thoughts and feelings she'd considered long dead - was the daughter that she had planned to steal away until magic had taken her first. It seemed that the entire family - the entire White line - was destined to make her feel, make her care, and then tear out her heart without a second thought.

Pressure built up behind her eyes until Regina felt like her head would explode. With a low growl, she stalked out of her study and headed for the backyard and the apple tree. She needed to clear these thoughts and the apple tree had always been a source of comfort - even if it was also a source of a pain.

But when she reached the backyard, it was to find Mary Margaret leaning against the tree. Anger flared within her once again. How dare she stand anywhere near Regina's tree?

Mary Margaret looked up and offered a smile, but it did nothing to quell Regina's anger. "I know you wanted me to leave, Regina, but -"

"Get. Away. From. My. Tree." She spat, her hand already closing around the teacher's arm in a grip hard enough to bruise.

Mary Margaret's eyes widened as she tried to step away from it. She didn't understand Regina's anger. She knew the tree had been important to her, but it had been important to Snow too - and to their relationship - from what the older woman had said.

"I'm sorry." She stammered, looking to Regina for some sort of explanation.

"Yes." Regina sneered. "You're sorry. You're so sorry now. Now that the damage has already been done."

"Regina -"

"Stop sniveling!" She hissed. "At least when you were her, you never sniveled."

"But I'm not her!" Mary Margaret yanked her arm away, fire dancing behind her eyes for the first time as she stared at Regina. "I'm not her because of you! You did this, Regina. Not me. So stop blaming me for your mistakes."

The sound of flesh meeting flesh cracked through the air as Regina slapped her. Mary Margaret jerked back, staring at her with wide eyes brimming with tears. "Feel better now?" She asked, her hand covering her cheek.

Regina closed her eyes. "Yes." She whispered, but when she opened them and took in the sight of Mary Margaret, she shook her head. "No."

Mary Margaret let her hand drop and nodded once. "I know that you're angry - and god knows you have a right to be - but you also remember everything, you know everything. I don't. And I'm trying here, but sometimes -" She looked at the tree. "I thought that the tree was a good thing between us. And I know how much you love it. I knew you'd come here eventually and I thought we could talk about everything. I know I put a lot on you - probably unfairly but -"

"It was a good thing between us. In the beginning." Regina turned away, walking back to the tree and placing her stinging palm on the rough place where Emma had taken the chainsaw to it. That had cut her more deeply than Emma could ever imagine. "But it's also - Emma already desecrated it. And seeing you there -"

"I am sorry, Regina." Mary Margaret spoke clearly, doing her best not to snivel or sound weak. "I do truly mean that. I know what I told you - what I'm asking of you - "

"No." Regina's voice was just barely a whisper. "You don't know. You do not know what you're asking me." She turned to look at the teacher. "Because you are asking me to send my child - the only thing I have left - to go get your child and bring her back. And if I do that - if I do that, then I lose Henry for good and once again you get everything."

Mary Margaret stepped forward. "I'm not asking you for me. I'm asking for you." She held up her hand before Regina could protest. "I miss Emma dearly, that is true. But you know as well as I do that if she is my child, I don't remember her. I don't remember carrying her or giving birth to her. I feel a connection to her, yes, but at this point, it is only as a friend, not as a daughter. I've missed her, but I've been able to go on without her. It's you who has had the trouble. You said so yourself. I didn't tell you about Henry being able to leave for me. I told you for yourself. Because all of this started because you wanted Emma back here. You wanted to redeem yourself. I gave you a way. And I know it seems impossible, but you told me the truth and I'm still here. What's to say the same won't be true for Henry?"

"You and I both know that it won't be, Mary Margaret." It was the first time that Regina had ever called her by her name.

"It could be. If I'm with you - if we tell him the whole story - make him see the other side of it -"

Regina shook her head and Mary Margaret stopped. She looked at the mayor and then sighed softly. "I'm going to go. It's your decision to make and I know that I'm only making things worse. I told you that whatever was said was between us and I meant it. I won't tell anyone else. If you decide you want to tell Henry, I'll be there if you want. If you decide not to, I won't blame you."

Then the schoolteacher walked away with Regina watching her, feeling more conflicted than ever.

**

Regina spent the better part of the rest of the morning trying to push all of her thoughts and feelings away and pretend that the night before and that morning had never happened. She went into her office at Town Hall after trying to coax Henry out of his room, only to get a listless reply that he didn't want to go anywhere or do anything and that Regina should just go to work like he knew she wanted to. The words hadn't stung that much - she was used to far worse refusals and accusations - but the dead tone he'd used and the lost look in his eyes had hurt. Why was it that she could never be enough, that she could never do enough? Why couldn't anyone love her and stay?

Almost as soon as she stepped into her office, she knew it had been a bad idea to come. The stacks of paperwork on her desk taunted her _(you're stuck, you're trapped)_ and the phone began to ring almost as though whoever it was had been waiting for the moment she stepped through the door, knowing that Leslie wouldn't be there to field the call for her.

With a sigh, she picked it up. "Hello?"

"Mayor Mills, it's Dr. Hopper. I'm calling about Henry."

Regina frowned and glanced down at her desk calendar. Henry didn't have a therapy appointment scheduled today, so why was Archie calling? "What about Henry?"

"I'm… concerned about him."

"Why?" Regina's voice was deadly.

"Well, he's stopped talking about his fairy tale ideas." Archie said hesitantly.

"And how is that a bad thing? Isn't that why he is in therapy in the first place, to cure him of that -" she nearly choked on the word, "ridiculous notion?"

"Yes." Dr. Hopper replied quickly. "And if he had stopped talking about them and moved on to other things, I would be incredibly pleased. But he hasn't, Mayor Mills. He's just stopped talking altogether."

"What?" She knew that Henry was sullen around her, but she assumed it was just because he blamed her for Emma leaving.

"He won't talk to me about anything. I've even tried engaging him by talking about the fairy tales," She could hear his flinch across the phone as he admitted that, "but it doesn't garner any reaction. I've tried getting him to write or draw his feelings, but it's had minimal success. He did write one letter," and again, she could hear him preparing himself for injury, "to Emma but -"

"What did it say?" Regina demanded.

"Mayor Mills, as Henry's therapist you know that I can't divulge -"

"What. Did. It. Say?" She repeated, her words deadly.

Archie actually whimpered. "It wasn't very long. It talked about how he felt abandoned, how he didn't understand how she could leave him again. How he just wanted her to come back, even if she didn't remember him. Regina, I really think that Henry needs to have some kind of contact with Emma, even if it's only through letters or a phone call or -"

"I'll take that into consideration, Dr. Hopper. Goodbye." Regina slammed the phone down, her hands shaking.

She looked at them for a few seconds before she suddenly stood up, using her arms to sweep everything off her desk. All of the paperwork scattered and everything else crashed to the floor. She stood over the destruction, staring at the mess she had created. In the center of it all laid a picture frame, its glass shattered. Henry's smiling face was supposed to look out from it, but it just looked distorted and ugly now - a reminder of just how much she had ruined.

Tears filled her eyes, making her vision swim, as she stepped through the mess and left the office, slamming the door behind her.

**

Henry was still in his room when she arrived home, lying on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling. He didn't acknowledge her when she walked into the room at all and she couldn't stand his silence, so she left the room and headed for her own.

She collapsed on the bed, feeling exhausted, and quickly succumbed to sleep. But it wasn't the peaceful sleep she'd been hoping for. Instead, she was once again plagued by dreams. Only this time, Emma didn't feature in them. Henry did though.

She found herself back in Leopold's castle, only this time, it wasn't her being dragged away kicking and screaming as Cora watched, it was Henry, and Emma was watching. The guards had him in their grasp, pulling his tiny body away as he yelled out for help. "No! Emma, help me! Emma, don't leave me here! Please! Help!"

"Henry!" She heard Emma yell back, and it was only then that she realized that unlike her own mother, Emma was trying to stop the guards and get to Henry, but she was held in place by an invisible force, unable to move. An invisible force that she herself was creating. She was stopping Emma from reaching Henry. She was causing Henry to feel abandoned and alone, just like her own mother had done to her.

She tried to lower her hand, but found that she couldn't. She couldn't stop herself, couldn't stop the evil thing she was doing.

Suddenly Mary Margaret was beside her, only she wasn't Mary Margaret, but Snow White. "Regina, stop. Please." She implored, but Regina couldn't.

And then August was beside her, repeating the words he had spoken in her office that day. "As for things of value, sometimes you need to let them go and trust that they'll come back to you."

Snow moved towards her and reached out, trying to take hold of her hand.

August's voice echoed. "You need to let them go and trust that they'll come back to you."

"I can't. I can't lose anything else." She begged, looking from August to Snow and back again. "I can't."

"Trust that they'll come back to you." Snow's hand grasped her own, the grip breaking the spell that had been holding Emma in place. She fell to the ground with a thud, but then quickly stood up, racing after the guards and Henry.

Regina tried to move too, to go to them, but found that now she was rooted to the spot. "No. Please."

"Trust that they'll come back to you."

Regina gasped as she sat straight up, tears streaming down her cheeks. The words from her dream as well as her other conversations that day continued to swirl in her brain.

_"Trust that they'll come back to you."_

_"Henry can leave Storybrooke."_

_"He felt abandoned."_

_"Emma, don't leave me here!"_

_"Trust that they'll come back to you."_

_"You wanted to redeem yourself."_

_"Henry needs to have some kind of contact with Emma."_

_"Even if she's my daughter?"_

_"Trust that they'll come back to you."_

Regina reached and grabbed her phone, her fingers already dialing a number. It wasn't until she heard the automated voice pick up that she realized what number it was that she had dialed. With a shake of her head, she ended the call, and forced herself to focus. This time when she dialed the number that she didn't even realize she knew, it rang until a voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Miss - Mary Margaret," Regina said softly.

"Regina? What's wrong?"

"I - I was hoping you would come to the house at your earliest convenience. I'm planning to… discuss things with Henry."

"Regina." Mary Margaret gasped. "Of course. Of course, I will. I can come over right now or…" She tried not to sound too eager or excited, knowing that Regina was probably having a very difficult time with everything. "I can come over whenever you need me."

Regina closed her eyes against those words. She didn't want to need Mary Margaret. She didn't want to need anyone. But it turned out that this redemption thing wasn't as easy as she'd originally thought. "Whenever you can come will be fine."

"Okay." Mary Margaret glanced over at the clock. "How about if I stop by Granny's and pick us up something for a late lunch and then come over?"

"That would be acceptable."

"Okay. I'll see you soon then." Mary Margaret hung up the phone and Regina just stared at hers, wondering once again if she wasn't about to lose everything.

**

Henry hadn't spoken much through lunch. He'd eyed Mary Margaret and his mother - sitting side by side at the dining room table - warily and eaten without comment. Even the hot chocolate with cinnamon that Regina had allowed Mary Margaret to make him had not gotten a reaction. The teacher had tried to draw Henry and Regina into conversations, but he had only answered with one or two word answers, never meeting his mother's eyes. The atmosphere had been awkward and tense the entire time.

As soon as he cleaned his plate, Henry stood, intending to slip back up to his bedroom, but his mother's voice stopped him. "Henry, sit back down, please. There's something I need to discuss with you."

Henry eyed her but eventually sank down into his chair after looking at Mary Margaret. "Am I in trouble?" He asked again. "Did I do something? Because Miss Blanchard said -"

"No." Regina shook her head and reached out, grasping Henry's hands. "You're not in trouble, Henry."

Henry frowned, but didn't pull his hands away. "Then what's going on? Why did you drop me off at the Nolans last night and then not come back? Why did Miss Blanchard pick me up this morning instead of you? What is she doing here now? What's going on?"

Once again, Mary Margaret could see the worry that Henry tied to hide. She hoped Regina could see it too.

"Henry, I -" Regina's throat closed up for a moment, but she forced the words out. "I know where Emma is."

Henry's head snapped up to meet her eyes. "What are you talking about? She's in Boston."

"No." Mary Margaret said softly. "She's not. She left there and disconnected her phone. No one could get in touch with her, until your mother found her."

"But why would you try to find Emma?" Henry asked, still confused. This wasn't at all like his mother.

"Because I know how important she is to you." Regina glanced at Mary Margaret. "And because I realized that she might be important to me, too."

Henry couldn't process the second part of what she said, so he ignored it, forging on. "Where is she?"

Regina laid an index card on the table. "She's in California."

He grabbed the card and stared at the address. "So we can go get her!" He exclaimed to Mary Margaret. "We can bring her back!"

"No," Regina spoke softly and Henry turned, angrily.

"Henry, listen," Mary Margaret told him, cutting off his rant.

"We can't go get her, Henry." Regina said, trying to keep her voice steady, even as she felt like she was going to break down or be sick at any moment. "Only you can."

"Wh-what?" Henry frowned. "But why -"

"You're the only one who can leave." Regina admitted and Henry's eyes widened suddenly.

"But - but that means -"

"Henry -"

"It's true." He said, his eyes burning into Regina. "It's all true."

He stood up so quickly that his chair toppled over backwards.

"Henry, please -" Mary Margaret said as Regina stood too, moving towards Henry.

"You really are the Evil Queen." He gasped, stepping back.

Regina reached out and grabbed his arm. "Henry, please, listen. I can explain. I can -"

"Don't touch me!" Henry yelled, yanking his arm away from her as though the touch alone would burn him. "Get away from me! You - you're nothing but - but an evil witch!"

He raced out of the house before either woman could react. The slamming of the front door reverberated through the room and Regina collapsed to the floor.

**

It wasn't until he had reached his destination that Henry realized his castle wasn't there anymore. The place he had always gone to hide away had been destroyed by Regina, just like everything else. His heart pounded as he sank down into the sand, tears pouring down his cheeks.

He'd always believed it to be true and wanted proof somehow, but now that he had it - it hurt too much to think about. Ever since Emma had told him that day that it couldn't be true, that the things Regina had done weren't evil, the thought that maybe he'd been wrong about everything had been niggling at the back of his mind. He'd started to remember those early years with Regina - the way she had held him and sang to him and laughed and played with him - and he'd started to wonder if maybe it all had been real. If maybe she had loved him like she claimed - like Emma claimed. But now he knew it was all a lie.

She was the Evil Queen. And the Evil Queen couldn't love anyone, least of all Henry - the son of the Savior and the grandson of Snow White. He'd known that - ever since he got the book he'd known that. So why did it hurt so much now?

He pulled in great, gasping breaths as he continued to cry, not knowing that back at the house, Regina was doing the same.

"Henry?" A voice cut through his cries, causing him to tense. But when he realized it wasn't Regina, he looked up, taking in August's form above him. "What's wrong?"

"It's all true!" He cried. "She told me so. She's the Evil Queen. She cursed everyone and trapped them here and - and -" He trailed off, once again taken over by sobs.

"Oh, I know." August confirmed with a nod.

"You - you know?"

"I've known for a long time. And you're right. She is the Evil Queen. Pure evil that one. Not a redeeming quality about her."

Henry frowned just a bit at that. No one had ever totally agreed with him about Regina before. Even Emma had told him that Regina wasn't really evil.

"I mean, she tried to kill Snow White. And she cursed everyone from fairy tale land to here. And she was a horrible mother to you." There was a glint in August's eye that Henry couldn't see through his tears.

Henry frowned again. "Well, I don't know if she was horrible -"

"And she forced Emma to leave town after the accident that she caused by cutting the brakes in her car."

"She didn't force Emma -"

"And she let you suffer here without Emma and didn't even try to find her and bring her back -"

"But she did -"

"And everyone in town hates her. No one would want to be her friend or defend her."

"But Miss Blanchard -"

"She's pure evil, Henry. You're right to run away from her."

"No, wait -"

"No?" August raised an eyebrow. "But isn't that what you've been saying? That she's pure evil? And now you have proof. She told you so herself."

"But -"

"But?" August knelt down. "But what, Henry?"

Henry's brow furrowed as he thought about what August had said. "But she didn't do all those things you said. She wasn't a horrible mother and she didn't cause Emma's accident or make her leave and she did find her. She told me -"

"But Henry, if she's evil, then that means that she's evil. It's black or white. Either she is or she isn't."

"Well then, she can't be." He said suddenly.

"But you said that she told you she was The Evil Queen." August reminded him.

"She did." Henry frowned again. "But she said that she could explain."

"Oh? And what explanation did she give?"

Henry looked down at the sand. "I don't know. I left before she could explain."

"Ah. I see." August rocked forward so he was sitting in the sand on his knees. He said nothing else, just waited quietly.

"August," Henry said finally, "do you really think that it's all black and white? People are either evil or they're not?"

"Well," August looked over at him, "that's what the fairy tales would have us believe."

"But do you believe it?"

A ghost of a smile spread across August's face. "No, Henry, I can't say I do."

"But then how - why do the stories say that?"

"I think for the very reason you just said. They're just stories. And you're a smart kid, Henry. You know that every story has two sides - even if the authors don't always tell us that other side. Someone who may seem like the villain to one person, may not seem that way to another."

Henry nodded slowly. "Miss Blanchard said something about that earlier today. Only, I didn't understand."

"Miss Blanchard is pretty smart."

"She's Snow White. But -"

August looked at Henry, but didn't question him.

"But she brought lunch over today and she was talking with my mom and my mom was being sort of nice to her and… they're supposed to be enemies."

"Snow White and the Evil Queen? Sure. But Miss Blanchard and your mom? Who says they have to be?"

"But they are Snow White and the Evil Queen."

"Are they really, Henry? You said that no one in town remembers their past, except for your mom, right?"

"Right. Or at least, I think so."

"So if they don't remember, then doesn't that make them different people?"

"I guess. But then - my mom does remember. So that would mean that she still was the Evil Queen."

"Hmm." August nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Only - Miss Blanchard said something else this morning. She asked me what if The Queen wasn't really evil? What if she wanted redemption? Do you think - do you think maybe that could be true?"

"I think it's very possible, Henry." August smiled at him.

"But - but if that is true, do you think it's possible? Could she be redeemed?"

August's smile grew. "I think redemption is always possible, if the person wants it."

Silence again reigned over them as Henry considered August's words. "What if she doesn't? What if this is all a trick?"

"Well, she gave you Emma's address, didn't she? And told you you're the only one who can leave Storybrooke?"

"Yes." Henry nodded.

"So go." August shrugged. "She can't come after you. And if you truly do believe that she's evil and this is all just a scheme, then you can escape from her clutches with no way for her to get you back."

August stood up, brushing sand from his knees. "But think about it Henry - if she truly was evil do you think she would've tried to look for Emma - even if she didn't know that she was Snow White's daughter - and told you where she was and that you could leave?"

The question that August asked, as well as others that had been asked of him, swirled through his mind.

_"What if The Queen wasn't really evil?"_

_"Henry, if your mother is evil, if she honestly wanted me gone, then why did she pull me out of that car?"_

_"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that she's never shown you any kind of love before?"_

_"What if something happened to make her behave the way she did? And what if she wanted redemption now?"_

_"If she truly was evil do you think she would've tried to look for Emma - even if she didn't know that she was Snow White's daughter - and told you where she was and that you could leave?"_

By the time Henry looked up to answer August, the man was gone. He looked around, but there were no traces of the man anywhere. Knowing what he had to do, Henry pushed himself up and started his walk back home.

It was only when the mayoral mansion came into sight that he realized that he'd never told August that Emma was Snow White's daughter or that Regina had given him her address and told him he was the only one who could leave Storybrooke. So how had the older man known? Henry pushed those thoughts away with a frown as he came to stand on the front porch. He had other things to worry about right now.

**

Henry entered the house quietly, surprised to hear crying coming from the direction of the dining room. He stopped in the doorway, taking in the sight of Regina crumpled on the floor crying and Mary Margaret kneeling next to her, talking softly and trying to calm her. It didn't appear to be working though, as his mother was still sobbing rather wretchedly.

He'd never seen her cry before, Henry realized suddenly. In the hazy memories he had of the first years of his life, she was always smiling and laughing, and in the more vivid and recent ones, she was stern or angry, but never sad. She'd never shown that emotion to him before, even when he'd pushed her and purposely tried to hurt her with his words. It was part of the reason that it was so easy to believe she was the Evil Queen, because if she lacked emotion then she couldn't have a heart or soul.

But now he was being presented with an entirely different picture. An Evil Queen who did have a heart, who did show emotion, who was crying over him. The word redemption rang in his ears again. Maybe his mother had been the Evil Queen, but this woman before him now certainly wasn't.

He took another step into the dining room. She had lied to him - lied to the whole town - and tried to take away everyone's happiness. That knowledge still hurt and everything was still confusing, but the thing that hurt most of all right now was seeing her like this.

"Mom?" He whispered and watched as both women's heads snapped up at the sound.

Mary Margaret's face flashed with happiness and concern as she looked at him, her hand still on Regina's back. But he didn't even notice it. All he could see was his mother's tear streaked cheeks and red rimmed eyes that were dull and almost dead. She stared at him incomprehensibly. "Henry?"

He moved closer to her, dropping to his knees in front of her. He reached out and touched her cheek, feeling her tears slide over his skin, as he searched her eyes. "Mom." He whispered again, and this time the word pulled a broken sob from Regina as her own hand reached up and covered his.

"Henry." She gasped, clutching his hand tightly.

He wanted - needed - her to explain things, to make it all make sense - if she even could - but at that moment, he knew that it wasn't about what he needed or wanted, it was about what she needed so desperately. It was spelled out all over her face.

So he pushed all the thoughts and questions he had out of his mind and carefully pulled his hand away from her grip, only to wrap both of his arms around her in a hug - a real hug. "Mom." He said against her hair, and he felt her wrap her arms around him and hold tightly, her body shaking with sobs again. And when he felt Mary Margaret shift and put a comforting hand on his back - rubbing slow circles to sooth him - he allowed himself to cry too.  



	14. Chapter 14

Somewhere in the midst of the crying, Mary Margaret had managed to guide Henry and Regina up from the floor and over to the sofa in the living room. Eventually, Regina had cried herself out, falling to sleep with her arms still clinging to Henry. He had gently extracted himself from her and now sat with Mary Margaret on the opposite couch, looking over at her.

"Henry," Mary Margaret whispered, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, "are you okay?"

Henry blinked and looked up at his teacher. "I don't know." He answered softly. "I always knew it was real but -"

"It's a lot to take in."

Henry nodded swiftly and looked back over at his mother. "Do you think she really means it? That she wants to find Emma? That she loves me?"

The second question was so quiet Mary Margaret barely heard it. "I'm sure of it, Henry." She assured quickly.

"Why did she do it, Miss Blanchard?" He asked her, still not understanding.

"I think that's something for her to tell you. When she's ready. I don't even know the whole story, but from what she told me," Mary Margaret shook her head. "She's not evil, Henry. She's just someone who was hurt repeatedly, by so many different people."

"Including you?"

Mary Margaret looked down at her hands. "Especially me." She might not remember her other life, but she still felt the guilt for what she had done, what she had caused Regina to do.

"Miss Blanchard?" Henry's voice wavered just a bit. "What if I bring Emma back and -" He couldn't finish his thought, but Mary Margaret knew what he wanted to ask.

"You said yourself that the book didn't say how Emma was going to break the curse."

"What if I'm right though? What if it destroys her? Miss Blanchard, I don't think that I can - she's my mom."

Mary Margaret pulled the little boy into a hug. "I know, Henry. I know. But I truly believe that there must be another way."

After a few long moments, Henry lifted his head from Mary Margaret's shoulder and looked back over at his mother. "Does she know about Emma?"

"She knows that you think Emma is my child. I told her that this morning. But I didn't tell her that you think Emma is also the one who will break the curse."

Henry nodded slowly. It was probably better that way. The fact that his mother was still willing to send him after Emma knowing that she was Snow's daughter was definitely a good thing, but he didn't know if she'd be so quick to want Emma back if she knew that she was destined to be the savior as well.

"Why do you think she wants Emma back? Why did she even look for her in the first place?" Henry wondered. "She was always trying to get rid of her. Now she's gone. Shouldn't she be happy?"

Mary Margaret offered up a small smile. "I don't think that your mom even knows the answer to that yet, Henry. At least not totally. But I think part of it is for you." Mary Margaret ruffled Henry's hair gently. "Your mom, no matter what she's done in the past, loves you. And she could tell how upset you were that Emma was gone. So I think your mom was trying to find her for you. At least partially."

Henry nodded. That made some sense. "And the other part?"

"The other part is I think your mom realized how much she missed Emma, too."

Henry's face scrunched in confusion. "She missed Emma? But mom hated Emma."

Mary Margaret chuckled just a bit. "I think Emma scared your mom. She was scared of losing you, of having you taken away. But I think that Emma also made your mom feel things that she hadn't felt in a long time."

Henry nodded. "Emma changed things. And then when she left, they went away."

Mary Margaret smiled at him. "Yes."

They were quiet for a long time then, as Henry studied his mother. Her cheeks were tear stained and she looked so small and helpless on the couch. She looked nothing like the Evil Queen from his book - the Evil Queen that she was supposed to be. And Henry realized with a suddenly clarity that it was because she wasn't. Not anymore.

August had been right. His mother had been the Evil Queen and Mary Margaret had been Snow White, but they weren't those people anymore. They'd changed. He'd been so focused on who they had been, that he hadn't stopped to look at who they were now.

"I really hurt her, didn't I?" He whispered.

Mary Margaret stroked her fingers through his hair. She wouldn't lie to him. "Yes."

A tear slipped down his cheek and he moved from the couch, kneeling down in front of his mother and putting his hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry, Mom." He whispered. "I'm really, really sorry."

**

When Regina finally woke up, it was to an empty room. Panic seized her almost immediately. Henry had come back, hadn't he? She hadn't just imagined it, she was sure of it. But if he had come back, where was he? And where was Mary Margaret? She was sure the teacher had been with her before, rubbing her back and trying to calm her down. But as Regina's eyes scanned the room, it reinforced what she already knew. Henry and Mary Margaret had finally realized exactly who she was and they'd left. She'd lost everything, just like she knew she would. She was alone once again.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Regina's head snapped up at Mary Margaret's voice, and she watched uncomprehendingly as the teacher and Henry entered the room. Mary Margaret was carrying a tray that contained three mugs as well as some sandwiches and Henry was carrying her laptop, already opened and in use.

"We were checking out some flights to California, Mom." Henry told her with a smile. "But I got hungry, so Miss Blanchard made us some dinner."

"I -" The tight, gripping fear in Regina's chest loosened when she heard Henry call her Mom.

"It's just some sandwiches and hot chocolate, nothing fancy." Mary Margaret shrugged.

Regina took in the tray and the two of them. "Thank you." She whispered and it was obvious that she was thanking them for more than just the dinner.

Henry scrambled up on the couch next to her, unceremoniously dropping the laptop onto her lap. "We found a couple different flights from Logan to LAX. I can take the bus back to Boston like before and then grab a taxi to the airport. The different airlines have unaccompanied minor policies and usually you have to have a guardian with you when you're dropped off, but I think if maybe we called ahead we could work around that. Then once I'm in LA, I can hire a car to take me to Malibu and -"

Regina felt her heart clench once again at the eagerness in Henry's voice. He'd already gotten started on his plans to leave her. Mary Margaret seemed to notice Regina's discomfort.

"Henry, why don't you let your Mom get awake a little first, okay? You're throwing a lot at her."

Henry frowned. "Sorry. I just figured the sooner I left, the sooner I could bring Emma back."

 _Bring Emma back_. The words echoed in Regina's head and she reminded herself that that was the whole purpose of everything she'd done so far. To bring Emma Swan back to Storybrooke. Henry was eager to leave but it was so he could come back with Emma. She pulled in a breath and then smiled down at Henry.

"It's alright, Henry. Now, walk me through this all again, only slower this time."

**

It was well after Henry's bedtime until they got everything figured out and made all the necessary arrangements. Henry loved every second of the planning, talking openly about how this could be the new Operation Cobra. Regina and Mary Margaret weren't quite as enthusiastic as he was, but they got through everything with minimal fuss - at least on the outside.

The plan they finally settled on was that Mary Margaret would take Henry to the bus stop - Regina couldn't watch him climb on the bus - which would take him to Boston, just as he'd done when he went to find Emma the first time. There would be a driver that they'd hired waiting for him to take him to Logan airport. The driver would make sure that Henry got to the airline, where he would then be taken care of by members of the airline as part of the unaccompanied minors program. Once he got to LAX, another hired driver would meet him to take him to Emma's Malibu apartment. From there, it was up to him to get Emma back to Storybrooke.

He wanted to pack his bags that night, but Regina had nixed the plan until the next day. He needed his sleep to be well rested for the trip. She tucked him into bed, doing her best not to think about the fact that it could still very well be the last time she ever did it. "Henry," she whispered to him after kissing his forehead, "I need you to know, even if you don't believe me, that I love you. I love you more than anything else."

Henry grabbed his mother's hand and squeezed it tightly. He could see the truth in her eyes. His mother had difficulty loving anyone because of what she had done and who she had been, but she loved him as much as she possibly could. "I know, Mom. I believe you. And I love you, too."

**

Regina was on her third drink when Mary Margaret came into her office. She glanced up at the woman that she was still having trouble reconciling herself with. "Is he -?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "The bus got out of town without any problems. He knows the plan. He's going to be fine, Regina."

Regina blinked. "I know that. I know he'll be fine. Me, on the other hand..."

Mary Margaret knelt down in front of her and took the drink out of her hands before clasping them in her own. "You'll be fine, too. I'll be here with you until Henry gets back with Emma."

Regina pulled her hands out of Mary Margaret's grasp and stood up, moving around the room. "What are you going to do? Move in with me?" She asked sarcastically.

"If that's what you want." Mary Margaret replied easily. Regina spun around. "Regina, I told you, whatever happened between us before, I'm here for you now. I'm going to see this thing through with you to whatever its end may be. So if you want me to stay here with you, I will. If you want me to leave and not speak to you again, as much as I would hate that, I will."

Regina studied her for long moments and frowned. "I don't want either of those things. Perhaps we could find a middle ground?"

Mary Margaret smiled. "I think that can be arranged."

**

Emma was walking back to her apartment when something in a tiny bakery window caught her eye. It was a little cupcake with a blue star candle on it. She tried to make her feet continue on, but something stopped her. She found herself walking into the bakery.

"Hi, can I help you?" The perky woman behind the counter asked.

"Um, oh. I - that cupcake?" She pointed to the one in the window.

"Of course!" The woman moved over and pulled it out of the window, boxing it up carefully in a tiny white box. "Happy birthday."

Emma blinked. "It's, um, not my birthday."

"Oh. Sorry." The woman kept grinning. "It'll be five dollars."

Emma frowned at the price but shoved a bill into the woman's hand, turning and leaving the bakery. Her mind was spinning. What was it about the cupcake that had drawn her to it so? And why did the woman wishing her a happy birthday sound so familiar?

**

There were boxes scattered across the apartment when Emma walked into it. She'd decided to move on from California and was almost done packing. Her plan was to leave in the morning. She still needed to finish packing up her closet, but for tonight, she wanted to just relax.

She set the box down on the counter and pulled the cupcake out, staring at it. What was with this damn cupcake? With a frown, she pulled out a pack of matches and lit the candle.

"Well Swan," she said to herself, "congrats on moving once again. Make a wish."

She closed her eyes and thought about everything that had happened since she'd woken up in the hospital. More than anything, she just wanted to feel right again.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and blew out the candle.

A knock sounded at the door and her eyes flew open.

**

Henry stood outside the door of the apartment that, according to the note card he'd been clutching since he climbed on the bus in Storybrooke, belonged to Emma. The hard part was over. He'd survived the bus ride and met the driver and navigated the airport and handled the flight and found the other driver. This should be the easy part now. All he had to do was knock.

But he couldn't bring himself to do it. What if this wasn't where Emma was? What if she had moved on already? Or what if she had never been here at all? What if this was all some sort of trick or scheme? He didn't think he could handle the disappointment.

But he thought of Miss Blanchard's assurances on the way to the bus stop and his mother's arms clutching him tightly before letting him go. It wasn't a trick. Emma was here. Emma was here and they needed her back in Storybrooke. He could bring her back. He was the only one who could. He just needed to knock.

Mustering up all his courage, he lifted his hand and knocked.

For a full minute, nothing happened and Henry felt his stomach churn. Then, finally, the door opened and his heart sank for a moment as he took in short blonde hair. But then his eyes fell to the woman's face and they widened as he realized that it was Emma. Her hair was shorter, but it was absolutely her.

"Emma!" He breathed out, throwing his arms around her and clinging to her tightly.

**

Emma pulled the door open, taking in the sight of Henry standing before her. She blinked once, twice, three times, waiting for him to disappear as he did every time she thought she saw him. But he didn't disappear no matter how much she blinked, and then she heard his voice calling her name and felt his arms as they wrapped around her and held tightly.

For a brief moment, she had a flash of opening another door to find Henry on the other side, but it faded quickly. "Henry." She breathed his named as she hugged him back.

And then she realized that this was real, that Henry was really there, in her apartment, across the country from where he needed to be. She pulled back out of the embrace suddenly. "Henry? Kid, what are you doing here?"

"Emma." He smiled at her. "I had to come see you. I missed you!"

"You had to come - how did you get here? Does your mother know you're here?"

Henry quickly looked down at the ground. "I took a bus. And then a taxi. And an airplane. And another taxi." He didn't respond to Emma's other question, knowing that by doing so it would seem as though Regina didn't know where he was and Emma wouldn't be able to tell that he was verbally lying to her if he said that she didn't.

"Henry!" Emma's voice raised in pitch as it sank in exactly what he'd done. "You did all of that by yourself?"

Henry shrugged. "I had to come see you."

"How did you even find me?"

Henry shrugged again. "It was pretty easy." It wasn't a lie, it had been easy for him to find her. It was his mother that had done all of the work.

"Jesus, Henry." Emma sighed. "You can't just fly across the country to find me and not tell your mother! She's going to be frantic. She's probably got an APB out on you. She'll have me arrested for kidnapping!"

"I doubt it." Henry replied easily, moving past her into the apartment. "Do you have any juice?"

The words struck her and Emma spun to look at him. "Henry -"

"Why are there boxes everywhere?" Henry frowned as he took in the sight. "Are you moving?"

"I - yes, tomorrow." Emma replied distractedly. "Henry, has this happened before?"

Henry's face scrunched. "Has what happened before?"

"You showing up on my doorstep? Barging in and asking for juice?"

Henry's eyes lit up. "You remember!"

"No." Emma shook her head. "No - I mean - not really. I don't think. It's just these weird flashes. But -" she scrubbed a hand over her face, "Henry, you have to go back to Storybrooke. You can't just run away because you're unhappy." _Pot, meet kettle_ , a voice sounded in her head, but she quickly shook it off. "I already told you before you left -"

"It's not the same without you!" Henry protested. "We need you, Emma. I need you." He looked at her. "And I think you need us too."

"Henry. There isn't a curse. This isn't a fairy tale." She sighed.

"It's not about the curse. Not really. It's about us needing you back in Storybrooke for things to feel right." Henry told her as he moved over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. He looked around for glasses, but finding none, untwisted the lid and drank straight from the carton.

"Henry!" Emma scolded, even as her mind played over the words 'to feel right'.

Henry just shrugged and smiled. "You know, since you're already all packed up -"

"No." Emma shook her head. She was already screwed up enough. She couldn't go back down that road. She'd given Henry up ten years ago and she couldn't just waltz back into his life now. "Henry, we are not doing this. I am not going back there. I am going to drive you to the airport tomorrow morning and you are getting on a flight back to Storybrooke. Without me."

Henry looked up at her, raising an eyebrow defiantly in a move that was pure Regina. "I won't go back without you. I'll just run away somewhere else and no one will ever find me."

"Henry!"

"I made it this far on my own. I can do it, Emma. You know I can."

"Jesus." Emma breathed out again, shaking her head. The voice in the back of her head reminded her that this was definitely her kid - running away seemed to be his forte too.

Henry tilted his head as he looked at her. "You're already packed." He reminded her again. "You can drive me back to Storybrooke, make sure I get back safe, and then go wherever."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "So I drive you back and you let me leave? You don't try to make me stay?"

Henry nodded. "I want you to stay, but I won't try to make you." Again, it was the truth. He was counting on his mother being the one to make Emma stay this time.

"We need to call your mother. Let her know you're okay and that I'm bringing you back."

"No."

"Henry, it'll be at least two days driving time to get back. She'll be going crazy. We need to let her know you're okay."

"She'll be fine." Henry protested, but Emma was already scooping up her purse and grabbing the boy by the hand.

"We are going to call your mother. Then we are coming back here and you are going straight to bed. Tomorrow I will start driving you back to Storybrooke, where you will stay because that is where you belong. End of discussion."

Trailing behind her, Henry just smiled. Storybrooke might be where he belonged, but it was where Emma belonged, too.

**

_"Hi Mom, it's Henry. I wanted to let you know that I'm okay. I'm in California with Emma. She's going to drive me back tomorrow, so I should be home in two days. Operation Cobra is a go. Love you. Bye!"_

Regina replayed the message for what was probably the thousandth time, taking in every inflection in Henry's voice as he spoke. He sounded so chipper at the beginning, his voice high and happy. But when he spoke about Operation Cobra, he dropped his voice down to a whisper, probably so Emma didn't hear him. He had left the message on the home answering machine while she had been out getting dinner with Mary Margaret. She'd cried the first time she heard it (and all the subsequent times after that).

She hit the replay button again, staring at the clock while she did. Time being frozen had never been more of a curse than at this minute. It had been the longest three days of Regina's life, of that she was sure. The nights weren't quite as bad because Mary Margaret had been true to her word and done everything she could to help distract her from taking her out for dinners (where Ruby had actually dropped a full tray of food when she caught sight of them sitting together) to bringing over ice cream and ridiculous movies, but the days when the other woman was at school and Regina was left alone either in her huge empty home or her equally empty office at City Hall were pure hell.

Every minute she spent alone was a reminder that this was the life she'd cursed herself to. There was no happy ending here - not for her or for anyone else. In taking away the happy endings of the others, she'd taken away her own happy ending, too. She'd never truly be happy because the people that could make her that way could leave - had left. And even though she knew in her head that they were coming back, in her heart she was well aware of the fact that even if they did, they could still just leave again.

"Are they back yet?" Mary Margaret's voice carried into the room even before she entered.

"No." Regina sighed, her fingers quickly pressing the button to stop the answering machine message.

Mary Margaret offered her a small smile as she came into the room. She'd already heard the message playing, but pretended that she hadn't. "I'm sure they'll be here soon. It's a long drive."

Regina nodded but said nothing.

"So, I thought that I could make us dinner tonight. Is there anything in particular that you're hungry for?"

Regina shook her head. Her stomach was churning and she had no appetite.

"Okay." Mary Margaret spoke softly. "Well, I grabbed some groceries on the way over, so I'll just go get started and call you when dinner's ready."

Regina looked up at her and found herself once again saying the words that she never thought she'd say to the other woman. "Thank you, Mary Margaret."

**

Spending two days driving across country in a car with someone could be a daunting thing. Being cooped up that long together could lead to fights and fits of anger. It could also lead to supreme awkwardness if the person you were riding with was the child you had given up for adoption 10 years ago. Or at least that's what Emma thought it would be like.

But she had to admit that she was wrong. It had actually been a really fun trip. They had sung along to the radio and laughed and joked around. Henry, it turned out, was a really fun kid when he wasn't talking about curses and the fact that his mother was evil. He was smart - way smarter than Emma had been at that age - but not in a smarmy kind of way. And he was so imaginative and inquisitive.

They had talked about their various likes and dislikes and Henry had filled her in on his life growing up in Storybrooke. She noticed that he didn't mention the curse at all and Emma wondered if her talk with him before she'd left had actually sunk in. He questioned her about what she had done since leaving Storybrooke and why she had cut her hair.

They stopped only to grab fast food, which Henry had wolfed down as though he'd never eaten it before in his life - and maybe he hadn't - and once during the first night for Emma to catch a few hours of sleep. She had considered getting a hotel room, but Henry looked peaceful enough curled up in the passenger seat with his head on her pillow and one of her leather jackets wrapped around him like a blanket. It wasn't the first night that Emma slept in her car and it actually felt comforting to her in a strange way - something familiar and tangible after weeks of confusion.

Now, as the hours and miles wound down, Emma felt her heart beginning to grow heavy. She'd enjoyed being able to spend time with Henry like this and soon it would all be over. Even though she still knew she wasn't ready to be a mother by any stretch of the imagination, she also knew that she would miss the kid terribly after she dropped him off.

As they drove past the 'Welcome To Storybrooke' sign, Emma realized that perhaps that was why she'd stuck around the first time. It was easy to leave when there were no attachments keeping you somewhere. But once you formed attachments, everything got infinitely harder. She'd made it a point in her life to not get attached to anyone, not even to Henry when he'd been placed in her arms as a newborn. But now, she'd broken that rule big time.

She had grown attached to Henry and, if the feeling that had settled over her when they crossed the border was any indication, this little town. Leaving the first time had been easy, but Emma had a feeling that the same would not be true this time.  



	15. Chapter 15

Mary Margaret was just pulling the pizza she had made - a favorite of both Henry and Emma - out of the oven when she heard the sound of a car pulling up out front. Regina - it seemed - had heard it too, because Mary Margaret could hear the sound of her heels clicking rapidly across the floors toward the front door. Mary Margaret quickly set the pizza on the counter, flicked the oven off, and ran out to join Regina.

By the time she made it to the foyer, Regina had already flung the door open and rushed outside, collapsing on the ground and clinging fiercely to Henry as she cried. Mary Margaret smiled softly to herself as she watched Henry hug Regina tightly.

"It's okay. I'm okay." Henry whispered against Regina's ear as she continued to cry. Her words were mumbled by her sobs, but he could just make out "came back".

"Of course I came back, Mom." He assured gently. "I had to. And I brought Emma, just like we planned."

At those words, Regina's head snapped up and she looked beyond Henry to where Emma Swan once again stood awkwardly watching their reunion. Her hair was shorter and her skin tanner, but it was most definitely her.

At the sight of her and the feel of Henry in her arms, Regina felt something shift inside her. The void Maleficent had said would never be filled felt much smaller now.

**

Henry was out of the car before Emma could even stop it fully and for a brief moment she considered just pushing down on the gas and heading straight back out of town. But as much as that would be the easy option, she knew she couldn't actually do it, so she finished parking the car and climbed out.

She watched as the front door flew open and Regina raced down the steps, practically collapsing as she embraced Henry. Behind them she saw Mary Margaret moving out onto the porch. The sight of the woman brought a small smile onto her lips.

But the smile faded as the scene suddenly changed. It wasn't Mary Margaret standing there but a man in a leather jacket. And Regina wasn't wearing black slacks and a blazer, but a cream colored dress.

She blinked hard and the image faded, but she was then faced with Regina's dark eyes staring up at her.

"Hi." She mumbled awkwardly, feeling a huge jolt of déjà vu.

She watched as Regina stood and Henry turned to look at her. She could see Regina's mouth moving, but all that she could hear was Henry's voice.

_"I found my real mom!"  
"You're Henry's birth mother?"_

"Emma?" She felt a hand on her arm and looked down to see Henry holding on to her. "Emma, what's wrong?"

She blinked and shook her head. "No-nothing. I'm sorry." She looked up at Regina, who was still just standing, looking at her. "Mayor Mills, I am so, so sorry. I had no idea that Henry was coming to find me. I swear. And I -"

Regina held up a hand to stop her. "I know, Miss Swan. It's alright." Then she offered her a small smile. "Thank you for bringing him back."

Emma could hear the emotion in her voice, so she nodded. "Of course. This is where he belongs." She glanced down at Henry to make sure he understood, but he was cuddled up against Regina's side, looking completely content. If that was the case, then why had he run away and acted like he didn't want to come back? It didn't make sense. But then, that was par for the course lately.

"Well, um, now that he's back safely, I'm just gonna go." She said, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"No!" Regina said quickly, shocking everyone with the intensity of her voice. "I mean, it's getting late and you've been driving for so long. You must be tired and hungry."

Mary Margaret moved down the steps finally, closer to the woman who was her daughter. "I just pulled a pizza out of the oven. Please, come in and at least eat before you go."

"I - I shouldn't. Really, I don't want to intrude."

Regina stepped forward and reached out, gently grasping Emma's arm. "Emma." She whispered the name. "Please, come in and eat."

Looking into her eyes, Emma found she was powerless to resist. "Okay. But just one piece."

"Yes!" Henry grinned, grabbing Mary Margaret's arm and tugging her toward the house. "Come on, Miss Blanchard, we have to set the table."

Mary Margaret looked back at Emma, itching to reach out and hug the woman, but allowed herself to be pulled into the house by Henry.

"Regina -" Emma started once they were gone.

Regina shook her head. "Come in and eat. We'll worry about the rest later." Then she gently pulled the blonde into her house, shutting the door tightly behind her.

**

Dinner went well. Too well, actually, in Emma's opinion. It felt so easy and natural to be with these people, to sit around the table and talk and laugh with them. And Emma knew full well that those types of feelings only spelled disaster.

She'd loved spending time with Henry and found herself falling more and more in love with the boy with every minute. And although she'd only known her for a week, sitting beside Mary Margaret and laughing with her felt as natural as though she'd known the woman her whole life. And then there was Regina. She knew that there had been no love lost between them before, but now the woman seemed genuinely happy to see her. It was confusing enough without the fact that every time Emma looked at her, she kept seeing flashes of her looking panicked and in need of help. Emma knew that she was only setting herself up for one hell of a fall, allowing herself to feel comfortable here, as though they were some sort of big happy family or something. That couldn't be further from the truth and Emma knew she needed to get out of Storybrooke as soon as she could, no matter how much it might initially hurt.

She saw her opportunity when Regina announced it was time for Henry to get ready for bed. She half expected some kind of tantrum from Henry, but the boy just hopped down from his seat, put his dishes in the sink, and then came over to her, hugging her tightly. She could feel his little fingers digging into her flesh, as though trying to keep hold of her forever, but then he pulled back a little and his grip loosened.

"Bye, Emma." He whispered and she felt her heart clench. The first time she'd given him up, he'd only been a day old, unable to say goodbye, and she'd known she was doing the right thing for him. The second time, she'd been able to leave because she knew it was what was best for all of them and because she couldn't remember anything about him. But now, this time, she'd had time to get to know him. She knew what a great kid he was and she knew what she was giving up - what she had chosen to give up.

A lump formed in her throat and she had to blink back tears and swallow hard before she could speak. "Bye, kid." Was all she managed, but it seemed like it was enough. Henry offered her a wide smile, hugging her tightly one more time before he released her and moved over to hug and kiss his mother goodnight.

Emma watched him go, her heart breaking as she did. She stood up then, moving her own dish to the sink and then offering a small, obviously forced, smile to the two women still left in the dining room.

"Thank you for dinner, Mary Margaret. It was wonderful. And Regina, thank you for letting me stay."

"Of course, Emma." Mary Margaret smiled at her.

Regina nodded at her and offered her a smile.

"I, um, I'm just going to head out then." Emma said, shoving her hands into her pockets once again.

"No." Regina shook her head quickly, "You can't leave tonight."

Emma's brow furrowed. "What?"

"It's getting late. And you've been driving for two days straight. The last thing you need to do is get back in the car and drive some more." Regina said logically, trying to keep her voice steady. "Besides, the last time you tried to leave in the dark after driving for a long time, you wrecked into our sign. I won't have you wrecking again, Miss Swan."

"Regina, I'm fine. I can -"

"No." Regina said again, her voice taking on a hard, almost dangerous tone. "You will not leave tonight."

Mary Margaret stepped forward, reaching out and touching Emma's arm. "You can stay in your old room at my place for the night. It's still all made up for you."

"I -" Emma tried to protest, knowing that the longer she stayed, the worse it would be when she left.

"No arguments, Miss Swan. You'll stay with Miss Blanchard or you'll stay here, but you will not attempt to leave Storybrooke tonight."

Emma let out a sigh. It was obvious she wasn't going to win this battle. "Fine. But just for the night."

Mary Margaret and Regina wore matching thousand watt smiles.

**

Emma woke to the sound of the clock tower striking the hour the next morning. She had fallen into a pretty deep sleep the night before after a goodnight hug from Mary Margaret that had been rather intense. The teacher had held her just like Henry had, clinging tightly as though to make her stay. Emma knew they'd been friends, but felt like her reaction was a little over the top. Still, it had felt nice to have the woman hugging her and she'd relished the feeling until Mary Margaret finally let her go. When she climbed into her bed, she swore she could smell apples lingering on the sheets, but the scent comforted her and helped her drift off easily.

She'd had the same confusing dreams, flashes of faces and snippets of conversations that all rolled over each other so that she couldn't make out any of it. She did know though that Henry and Mary Margaret had featured heavily, along with Regina. She thought about asking Mary Margaret about them, but decided against it. She was only staying one night and now she was planning on leaving.

She had felt strange coming back with Mary Margaret, but also 'right', and she found herself thinking about what Dr. Rhodes had told her. Maybe Storybrooke was the best place for her to stay during her recovery. There were actually people here who could tell her if her flashes were memories or just crazy dreams.

But even as she considered staying, she knew she couldn't. She had given Henry up in a closed adoption. Even being in the same town with him was a possible law suit or jail sentence waiting to happen, and she'd done enough of that in her time already. Regina may have been nice the night before, but she knew very well that the woman would want her gone that morning.

With a sigh, Emma climbed out of bed. She could smell coffee brewing downstairs and silently thanked Mary Margaret for leaving the pot on for her. She knew the other woman would be at school already, so she headed down the stairs without thinking about what she was wearing.

She was nearly to the bottom of the steps when she caught sight of the person sitting in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee. For a moment she thought that it was Mary Margaret, but then the woman turned.

"Madam Mayor," she said, her voice giving away her surprise.

Regina turned on her chair to face Emma, offering her a warm smile. "Good morning, dear."

"I - um - Mary Margaret isn't here." Emma offered weakly, feeling suddenly very self conscious about the fact that she was wearing only a tank top and a pair of tiny boy shorts.

"I'm not here to see Mary Margaret. I'm here to see you." Regina turned and gestured toward the basket of apples sitting on the island counter. "I brought you some apples."

"To enjoy on my drive home?" Emma questioned, the words falling out of her mouth before she could think about them.

Regina jerked back just a bit at the words she'd spoken to Emma on that first morning. "You remember that?"

Emma gripped the hand rail of the stairs, searching Regina's face for something. "I - I don't think so." Her face scrunched in concentration. "I don't know why I just said that. It just came out." Then she looked over at Regina again, her eyes wide and almost pleading, a confused expression on her face. "But that did happen before, didn't it? You brought me apples?"

"Yes." The mayor nodded and noticed how Emma seemed to relax just a bit at her words, while her face still held the strange look. "Emma?"

Emma startled a bit at hearing Regina call her by her first name. "I -" she glanced down at her clothes again, finding the perfect excuse in them, "I wasn't expecting company. I'll be right back."

Regina watched her retreat up the stairs with a frown. She hadn't meant to startle Emma, she'd only meant to try and make her feel comfortable. She should've realized that the apples might have triggered memories that were less than pleasant, but the night before it had appeared as though Emma didn't remember anything yet. Still, despite Emma's words to the contrary, it was obvious that she was remembering things, even if she didn't recognize it.

Regina needed to be able to convince her to stay, and only as she watched Emma's long, bare legs ( _don't go there, Regina_ ) moving up the stairs did she realize that it might not be as easy as she'd originally planned. It seemed that nothing with Emma Swan was. Everyone else in the town was easy to manipulate into doing what she wanted, but that had never been the case with Emma. It had been nearly impossible to get the drifter to leave when she'd wanted her to, and now it seemed that the same would be true when trying to get her to stay.

Fiddling with one of the apples in the basket, Regina's mind began to work overtime, trying to come up with a way to keep Emma in Storybrooke.

**

Emma shut the door to her bedroom - no, Mary Margaret's guest room - and leaned heavily back on it. Seeing Regina downstairs, saying those words, apparently remembering but not really, it had all thrown her for a loop. So she'd done what she did best and ran. But she knew that sooner or later she would have to face the mayor again, so with a fortifying breath, she pushed off the door and moved over to where her clothes were.

She would get dressed, go back downstairs, assure Regina that she was leaving, and then climb in the Bug and go. It would be easier that way, not having to say goodbye to Henry or Mary Margaret. And once she got settled wherever she was, she'd see about possibly changing her name so that it wasn't so easy to track her down.

**

Regina looked up as she heard Emma come back down the steps. She was fully dressed this time, in her skin tight jeans and tank top, the knee high boots and red leather jacket completing the outfit that she'd been wearing when she first came to Storybrooke. Regina wondered if Emma had done that on purpose, but remembered that she had favored the jacket and figured it had been an unconscious decision.

"Madam Mayor," Emma spoke as she moved across the room, "I just want to assure you again that I am leaving. I don't want any trouble and I -" Emma stopped speaking mid sentence, her eyes fixed on Regina's chest.

"Miss Swan?"

"My necklace." Emma murmured, her eyes still trained on the circular pendant that hung around Regina's neck. She glanced up briefly, meeting brown eyes, before looking back down at the necklace again. "You're wearing my necklace."

Her fingers reached out and ran over the pendant, ghosting over olive skin as they did. Emma jerked her fingers back as soon as she felt Regina's flesh and saw the woman shudder at her touch. "I - I'm sorry. I -"

Regina swallowed hard, trying to push down the feelings that Emma's caress had stirred. "No, it's fine. You're right. It is your necklace."

"Where did you get it?"

"Mr. Gold found it in the woods after your accident. He gave it to me." Regina's fingers moved to the clasp on the back of the golden chain.

"No." Emma reached out, her hand curling on Regina's arm to stop her. "Don't."

"It's yours." Regina replied, trying to read Emma's face.

Emma shrugged. "It was. But it looks better on you. Keep it. Please."

"Emma."

Emma looked away, her gaze focusing on the basket of apples. "Thank you, for the apples. I will take them for the ride home."

Regina stood then, moving into Emma's personal space. "You're leaving?"

Emma looked confused. "I thought that's what you wanted? I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be anywhere near Henry."

"But you want to be." Regina countered, hoping that she was right.

Emma picked up the basket and moved away. "It doesn't matter what I want."

"I think it does." Regina replied, reaching out and catching Emma's wrist in her grasp. "We should talk about this, Miss Swan."

"Madam Mayor -"

"Come have breakfast with me." Regina countered quickly. "We'll discuss it and then you can choose what you'd like to do."

Emma blinked, trying to understand what was going on, but then nodded. "Fine. But after breakfast, I'm leaving."

Regina inclined her head in acknowledgement, slipping her arm through Emma's like she had with Belle on the road all those years and worlds ago. "Whatever you say, Miss Swan."  



	16. Chapter 16

Regina kept her arm looped in Emma's, even as they walked down Main Street. Emma hadn't offered up any protest and Regina found that she enjoyed the feeling of the warm body beside hers, not caring what anyone else might think about the picture they presented.

"So, is anything coming back to you?" Regina asked as they moved closer to Granny's.

"No." Emma admitted with a frown. "Not really anyway. I mean, these things look familiar, but I was here for a week before I left."

Regina nodded, then glanced over at Emma. "You seemed to have some kind of memory or knowledge of me bringing you apples, though."

Emma shrugged, her shoulder bumping Regina's. "I guess. I don't know. I get these… flashes, you could call them. Just little snippets of memory or - something. And they don't really make a lot of sense. I can't really tell what's real and what's not."

"What do your doctors say?"

"Dr. Rhodes, my doctor in California, said that it was normal. That it could be a sign that my memory is starting to come back. That I'm not crazy."

That stopped Regina short, which in turn caused Emma to be pulled to a halt. "You thought you were crazy?"

Again, Emma shrugged. "I didn't know what I was. Still don't. Sometimes it feels like I'm going crazy. I keep having these dreams and - everything is just jumbled and I can't make sense of any of it. And when I was in California…" Emma trailed off, knowing how crazy she would sound.

"What happened when you were in California?" Regina questioned, sincere in her concern for the former sheriff. "Emma, it's okay. You can tell me."

"I kept - I kept hearing voices and seeing people who weren't there." Emma pulled her arm away from Regina, running her hand over her face.

Regina's brow furrowed as she watched Emma's jerking movements. "What do you mean?"

"I would look at someone and I would see Henry or Mary Margaret or - or someone else. And then I'd blink and I'd see the real person. But for those few seconds -" Emma shook her head.

"Emma," Regina spoke softly but firmly, her tone forcing Emma to acknowledge her, "you were in a terrible accident. You had head trauma and brain surgery. You are still recovering. None of those things make you crazy."

"When I opened my door and Henry was standing there, I thought -" Emma trailed off, tears prickling at her eyes.

The clock tower rang out then, announcing the hour to the entire town, and Regina's eyes flew to it. The hands moved slowly, but they moved. Regina glanced over to Emma. Time was moving again. Emma had brought the changes back to Storybrooke. Regina felt the void inside her grow even smaller as she listened to the chimes.

Then she turned to Emma and slipped her arm back through the other woman's. "Well, it was Henry. Which means that you aren't crazy. Now come along, dear. I'm ready for breakfast."

**

"Emma!" The exclamation was punctuated by the sound of glassware shattering as Ruby once again dropped her tray at the sight of the mayor out with someone. This time though, there were only drinks on the tray and Ruby was far more interested in the mayor's companion than the mayor herself.

As coffee, milk, and orange juice puddled together on the floor, Ruby's arms wrapped tightly around Emma in an almost bruising hug. "You came back! I knew you would."

Emma flinched just slightly at the embrace, Regina noticed, before she relaxed into it, letting her own arms come up to wrap around the waitress. "Hey, Ruby."

"I missed you!" Ruby proclaimed as she pulled back, staring at Emma with a huge smile on her face. "Oh my god, look at you! Your hair is awesome. And you're so tan! Where did you go? Tell me all about it!"

Emma chuckled slightly as she listened to Ruby chatter away. She'd missed the waitress, Emma realized suddenly. She didn't remember her - besides the flashes of her face - but she'd missed her all the same. "I missed you too, Rubes." The nickname slid easily from her lips and Ruby lit up even more.

"Well," Regina cut in then, her mayoral voice coming out to play, "as charming as this reunion is, Emma and I came for breakfast, and it appears you have a mess to clean up, Miss Lucas."

At the sound of Regina's voice, Ruby quickly pulled back from Emma and looked down at the mess she'd made. "Oh! I - I'm so sorry, Mayor Mills. Please, have a seat and I'll be over to take your order just as soon as I clean this up."

Emma offered her a quick smile before she turned to Regina, looking at her as though trying to figure something out. Regina raised her eyebrow but said nothing. Emma shook her head and made her way to a booth.

They had barely gotten seated when another cry of "Emma!" rang through the diner. Looking up, Emma caught sight of a young woman with blonde hair, pushing a stroller. Regina frowned at the interruption, but bit her tongue. Perhaps she could play this to her advantage later.

Emma's face scrunched in concentration as she looked at the woman and baby, but nothing was coming to her. "Ashley." Regina mouthed the word at her, inclining her head in the direction of the other woman.

"A-Ashley." Emma tried the name out and was rewarded with a squeal of delight and another hug.

"I am so, so glad to see you back!" Ashley said as she wrapped her arms around Emma. "How are you?"

"I'm okay." Emma told her and it wasn't a lie. But more than Ashley, Emma's eyes were on the baby in the stroller, who seemed to be staring right at her. "And how are you?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Oh, Alexandra's just wonderful." Ashley cooed, already scooping the baby up and holding her out towards Emma. "Do you want to hold her?"

Emma opened her mouth to say no, but found herself saying yes instead. She carefully settled the baby's weight in her arms, looking down at the tiny person who seemed to know her. It wasn't possible of course, for a child that young to have any kind of recognition of Emma who she'd probably never seen before in her life, but there was still something in the way those blue eyes met hers that Emma couldn't explain away.

"Well, aren't you just beautiful?" Emma spoke softly, rocking the baby gently.

Regina watched and thought of Henry when he'd first been placed in her arms. Had Emma held him before she gave him away? She found herself wanting to know, but quashing the feeling. She needed to get Emma to stay in Storybrooke first. Then they could deal with all the other questions.

Ruby came over then with a cup of coffee for the mayor and a mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon for Emma. The waitress' presence seemed to spurn Ashley into action and she took the baby back, hugging Emma tightly before leaving with a promise that they would have to catch up soon.

Once Ashley and Ruby were both gone, Emma shook her head, her finger swiping through the whipped cream on top of her hot chocolate.

"Something wrong?"

"It just seems so surreal to me." Emma gestured around the diner. "Being here. Having people know me and apparently like me. I've never had that before."

Regina tamped down on the voice that reminded her that it was because of her that Emma had never had that before. They would certainly have to deal with those issues at some point, but now was not the time. "All the more reason for you to stay here in Storybrooke, isn't it?"

Emma let out a wry chuckle. "You know, I really don't get you. I mean, before my accident, you apparently wanted me gone enough that people in town thought that you'd cut my brakes. And now all of a sudden, you're doing your damnedest to get me to stay. Why is that, Regina?"

Regina averted her gaze, staring into her coffee cup, and Emma sighed. She slid her finger through the whipped cream again and licked it off. Something tickled at the back of her mind, but she shook it off. She had always done this when she had whipped cream in her cocoa and she didn't think there would be anything significant about it in her lost memories.

"I was… afraid." Regina finally admitted softly.

Emma's eyes flew up and locked on Regina's. She was telling the truth, that much was obvious. "What?"

"I thought you wanted to take Henry from me." Her voice stayed soft as she continued her admissions.

Without thinking, Emma reached across the table and took hold of Regina's hand. "Regina, I would never try to take him from you. He is your son." She squeezed the hand in hers and then offered up a sad smile. "But if you think that I'm capable of that -" Emma faltered for a second on those words, the tickling feeling increasing, but she shook it off and continued, "then that's all the more reason for me to leave."

Regina quickly flipped their hands, so that she was now grasping Emma's. "No." She shook her head quickly. "I know now that I was wrong. And you can ask anyone in Storybrooke - I don't admit that, ever."

Emma chuckled a little at that. "Regina -"

"One week." Regina said suddenly, looking up at her. "Stay for one week. And then see how you feel."

"One week." Emma repeated, her brow furrowing at the words and the familiarity of them. She glanced around the diner, taking in everything before she looked back at Regina. "One week and then if I want to leave, you won't stop me."

Regina took a moment to think about it - to consider the fact that Emma might not want to stay, might choose to leave again after a week - before she nodded. "Agreed."

"Well, I guess I need to check with Mary Margaret if it's okay if I stay an extra week."

"I am sure that Miss Blanchard will have no problem with that at all." Regina smiled genuinely. "I have to go to a meeting after we finish breakfast, but how would you like to pick Henry up from school and join us for dinner at the house?"

Emma swallowed and then smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice."

**

Emma leaned against the Bug, watching the school yard as the bell rang to dismiss the students for the day. She didn't even have time to scan the crowd before Henry had spotted her and was racing over.

"Emma!" He plowed into her, hugging her fiercely and causing her to slam back against the car. "You stayed!"

"Hey, kid." She smiled, hugging him back, even as her body ached in protest.

"I knew you'd stay. I knew you would." Henry grinned excitedly.

Emma knelt down so that she was on level with him. "Listen, Henry, I don't want to get you too excited, okay? I did stay and I am staying, but only for a week. That's it, okay?"

"One week." Henry's smile grew wider at those words, as though he knew something that she didn't. "Okay, Emma."

"You're staying?" Mary Margaret's voice cut in and Emma looked up at her with a sheepish smile.

"Um, yeah. If you don't mind me crashing in your guest room for another week?" She chewed on her bottom lip as she waited for the response.

Mary Margaret's face lit up. "Of course you can stay, Emma! You know you're welcome for as long as you want."

"Yeah?" Emma still wasn't used to these feelings - to having a sort of home and family that she was building slowly.

"Yeah." Mary Margaret smiled.

"Okay, kid," Emma stood up, "we need to get going. I promised your mom that I'd take you home and get your homework done before dinner."

"You're staying for dinner?"

"As long as it's okay with you." Emma told him honestly. She wouldn't force her way into Henry's life.

"Of course!" Henry assured quickly. "Come on." He tugged on her arm, trying to get her into the Bug.

Emma called out to Mary Margaret as she climbed into the car. "I'll be home later, Mary Margaret."

Mary Margaret's heart felt like it expanded at those words. They had to keep Emma in Storybrooke and she knew that she would do anything, just like Henry and Regina would, to make sure she stayed.

**

Mary Margaret looked up from her place on the couch at the sound of the door opening. She watched as Emma walked through the door, unable to keep the probably sappy smile off her face. This was her daughter. It was strange to think of Emma that way, and yet she felt the sudden rush of love towards the other woman that had always been there from the moment she laid eyes on her. She might not remember carrying her or giving birth to her, but she certainly felt a connection to her.

"How was dinner?" She asked with a smile, patting the spot next to her and lifting up the blanket that she had thrown over herself.

Emma smiled at the sight - it felt familiar, even if she didn't remember it. That had been happening a lot today - feeling more than remembering. "Let me go change and then I'll tell you all about it."

"Hot chocolate?" Mary Margaret called up the stairs after her and Emma laughed.

"You know it! With cinnamon."

The smile widened, if that was even possible.

**

"So, how was dinner?" Mary Margaret asked once they were both settled on the couch with their hot chocolate and a marathon of Designing Women queued up on the DVR.

"It was nice. Great, really. Regina made lasagna and it was to die for and Henry didn't mention the curse once and… it just felt really nice."

"So why do you sound so upset about that?" Mary Margaret asked softly.

"Because…" Emma's head fell on Mary Margaret's shoulder, and instantly the teacher began to gently comb her fingers through shortened blonde hair. "I'm only staying for a week. Allowing myself to become more attached - I can't do that, Mary Margaret."

"Well, is there a law written somewhere that you only have to stay for the week? Did Regina demand that you go after the week was up?"

"No. And that's the worst part. She acts like she wants me to stay. Like she wants me to have a relationship with Henry now."

"And how is that a bad thing?"

Emma's head lifted off Mary Margaret's shoulder as she looked at her with wide eyes. "Before I left you were warning me away from Regina, telling me to be careful around her, saying she was a bad mother. You thought she cut the brakes in my car, Mary Margaret! And Henry was even worse than you with the things he was saying about her. And now, suddenly, both of you are full force on the Regina bandwagon? What the hell happened while I was gone to make you both change your mind so suddenly?"

Mary Margaret glanced down at the mug in her hands. "I was wrong about Regina. I didn't - I didn't understand her then."

"And now you do?"

"Not completely. But Emma, while you were gone - Regina changed. She opened herself up. And I got to see another side of her, a side that did help me understand her more."

Emma's eyes closed. She couldn't say that Regina didn't seem different - more open, like Mary Margaret had said. But everything still felt so confusing and jumbled.

"I just don't understand why she's suddenly okay with me being here now. It doesn’t make sense."

"She missed you. I truly believe that. And she wants you here now because of that and because of Henry. She does want you to be a part of Henry's life, because she knows that's what he wants and what you want. She understands now that you aren't trying to take him away. She saw that when you left."

Emma's head fell back on Mary Margaret's shoulder and she glanced at the TV. "Okay. I'll accept that maybe Regina has actually changed her tune in regards to me, at least for the time being. But let's drop this, because Julia is about to give her Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia speech, and I'm not missing that."

Mary Margaret laughed and turned the television up louder as Emma began to quote along with the show.

**

"Madam Mayor, sheriff - I mean, Miss Swan is here to see you." Leslie's voice announced from the speaker.

Regina's head snapped up, her attention instantly on the door. "Send her in, Leslie."

A minute later, Emma entered the office. "Sorry to interrupt." She said, her hands stuffed in her pockets awkwardly.

Regina rose and moved around the desk towards her. "It's fine. You're not interrupting anything but paperwork. What can I do for you?"

Emma glanced at the ground, scuffing her feet against the floor. It felt foolish now, coming here. "I - I'm sorry. You're obviously busy and I should leave you to your work."

"Emma." Regina moved closer, reaching out to grasp Emma's arm. "You came here for a reason and I've already told you, you're not interrupting anything important. Truth be told, I'm glad of the interruption. So please, have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink? Some cider perhaps?"

Emma blinked at that and looked up at Regina. "The best apple cider I ever tasted." She murmured softly. "You've offered me cider before."

"Yes." Regina nodded, sitting down beside her. "You remember that?"

"I guess I do. I remember the words anyway. Not the situation but… I remember the words at least."

"That's good, isn't it?" Regina asked, although she herself was unsure whether it was good that Emma was remembering or not. If Emma remembered the way their relationship had been before, it could drive the woman away.

"I guess it is." Emma nodded, although there was still a slight frown on her face. "At least, it's good to know that what I'm remembering is real." She glanced over at Regina. "That's actually why I'm here. I - I keep having these dreams and I was hoping you could tell me if they're real or -"

"Of course. If I know, I'll be happy to tell you."

"Were we ever," Emma paused, trying to consider how best to ask about the dreams she'd been having, "trapped somewhere with smoke? In a fire maybe or - or something else?"

Regina swallowed and then nodded. "There was a fire here in Town Hall."

"Did you ask me to help you because you were… injured or…"

"Yes. We were walking downstairs and when we opened the door, the fire exploded and threw us back. My legs were trapped and even after you got me free, I couldn't move. I asked you to help me."

Emma searched Regina's face, remembering the look of panic on it from her dream and the words she kept hearing. "You thought I was going to leave you."

Regina swallowed. "Yes."

"Did I?"

"Yes."

Emma frowned at that. Her dreams and memories were hazy at best, but she couldn't believe that she had left Regina behind during a fire.

"You came back though." Regina's voice was quiet. "I thought that perhaps you wouldn't but you did, with a fire extinguisher."

"I saved you." Emma breathed the words out, feeling like a weight had been lifted.

"You did." Regina acknowledged. "It seems like that is becoming a pattern. You leave me, only to come back."

Emma's eyes met Regina's as she admitted quietly, "I don't usually come back when I run."

"Perhaps you've found something worth coming back for here." Regina's voice was barely a whisper.

Emma tilted her head, her eyes roaming over Regina's face. "Perhaps I have."

They were silent for long moments, just staring at each other, until Emma finally averted her gaze, brushing tendrils of hair away from her face.

"What made you cut your hair?" Regina asked softly.

"Oh. Um. I was looking in the mirror and I just… didn't like what I saw. I needed a change so I just grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting."

Regina's eyebrows rose at that. "You did it yourself?"

"Yeah. Do you need a hairdresser here in Storybrooke?" Emma forced a laugh.

"A hairdresser, no." Regina admitted. "But a sheriff…"

Emma's eyes widened. "What about Sidney?"

Yes, what about Sidney indeed? Regina pursed her lips as she answered. "Sidney has proved to be a… mediocre replacement."

"Not behaving like a proper lapdog then?" Emma spat, her hand coming up to cover her mouth before the words were even completely out. "Oh god, Regina, I - I'm so sorry. I don't know where that came from. I - "

Regina actually tossed her head back and laughed. There was the Emma Swan she knew, with all the grit and fire that she'd been seemingly lacking. "I know where it came from." Regina assured. "And actually, it is just the opposite. Sidney is the perfect lapdog. And I've found that to be dreadfully boring."

"Regina, are you offering me the sheriff's job back?" Emma asked, amazed at the turn in the conversation.

"Would you consider taking it? It would mean staying more than a week." She hadn't planned to offer the job back to Emma, but now that she had, in a round about way, she realized that it was what she wanted. She wanted Emma back in the sheriff's office, just as she wanted her back here in Storybrooke - permanently.

Emma faltered at that. She hadn't been expecting this at all when she came over and honestly, she still wasn't convinced that she should stay in Storybrooke. Plus, the fact that she had ever been the sheriff here still seemed totally foreign to her. "I - I need time to think about it."

Regina nodded, reaching over and carefully taking Emma's hands in hers. "It is yours, if you want it. I know that no one, except perhaps Sidney, will contest it."

Emma offered a small smile at that. "Well, thank you, Regina. For everything." She slid her hands out of Regina's grip and stood up. "I really should be going though. I've kept you from your work for far too long."

"It's been a pleasure." Regina's voice was almost a purr. "Please, come back and interrupt me at any time."

Emma laughed and headed for the door. Then, as she stood in the doorway, she turned back to look at the mayor. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight? Mary Margaret will be there and you could bring Henry, of course. Maybe we could… watch a movie or something after?"

A smile blossomed on Regina's face. "I'd like that very much."

Emma flashed a smile back at Regina. "See you around six then?"

"Absolutely."  



	17. Chapter 17

Mary Margaret was already home and in the kitchen when Emma entered the apartment.

"Oh, there you are! I was just about to start dinner."

Emma shoved her hands in her pockets as she took in her roommate. "Yeah, um, about that. How do you feel about having two more people for dinner?"

Mary Margaret frowned and Emma felt her heart sink. She should've checked with the other woman first, instead of just assuming it would be okay. Even though this place might feel like home - and that was scary enough - it really wasn't. "I've told you time and time again, Emma, we don't have people for dinner, we have food."

Emma blinked. "Was that a - did you just make a joke? About cannibalism?"

Mary Margaret laughed at the look on Emma's face. "I'm assuming that the two people that are coming over to join us for dinner tonight are Regina and Henry?"

"Yes." Emma nodded. "Is that okay? I should've asked first. I'm sorry. I -"

"Emma," Mary Margaret said calmly, her voice sounding motherly, "it's fine. I'm happy to have them over. On one condition."

Emma's hands dug deeper into her pockets as she chewed her lip. "And that is?"

"You have to help me make dinner."

Emma's eyes widened. "No way. Mary Margaret, I'm a disaster in the kitchen! Remember when I tried to make boxed mac and cheese and nearly burned the apartment down?"

Mary Margaret stopped in her tracks, staring at Emma with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you forgot that." Emma sighed exasperatedly.

"No. Of course not." Mary Margaret shook her head, but her eyes stayed focused on Emma. "But Emma… you remembered it."

"What?" Emma frowned, until suddenly it struck her. "Oh my god! Mary Margaret, I remembered that!"

Small, but deceptively strong, arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a crushing hug. "You remembered." Mary Margaret laughed. "Do you remember anything else?"

Emma pulled back and searched her brain. The memory of making the macaroni and cheese and accidentally catching the box on fire in the process was easy to recover and just as vivid as the other memories she had of her time in Boston. She remembered everything without any question or confusion. But as she tried to piece together other memories of her time in Storybrooke, she found that they were just as out of reach or disjointed and jumbled as always. "No." She frowned. "Nothing else like that."

"Hey." Mary Margaret squeezed her arms, still smiling widely. "That's okay. You remembered something. And I'm sure the rest of it will come in time. This is something to be excited about!"

"I remembered something." Emma grinned. It was a trivial memory, nothing of any major importance in it, but she remembered it. It was there, where before there had only been a vast sea of blackness. It was the lighthouse she'd been searching for.

"Now come on," Mary Margaret pulled away, turning back toward the stove, "I've got just the thing in mind. And tonight, there will be no fires."

**

Just as the minute hand moved into place over the twelve to proclaim it six o'clock, the knock sounded at the door.

"Punctual." Emma smirked at Mary Margaret.

"That's Regina, all right." The teacher agreed.

The sheriff moved to the door, opening it only to have Henry fling himself at her. "Emma!"

"Henry." She heard Regina scold, but she just laughed and hugged him. As much as this whole thing scared her, she couldn't deny how good it felt to hold her son in her arms.

"Hey, kid." She ruffled his hair before looking up at Regina. The mayor looked beautiful in black slacks and a bluish gray silk shirt. Emma's eyes focused on the silk shirt, something about it capturing her attention. She could feel that same niggling at the back of her mind, telling her that there was something important about that shirt, but no matter how hard she wracked her brain, she couldn't come up with anything.

"Emma? You okay?" Henry's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked down to see him looking at her with concern on his face. She realized that her arms had gone limp.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just," she offered a smile at Regina who was still standing in the doorway, also looking concerned, "you look really beautiful."

She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks at the words, but the smile that lit Regina's face chased it away. "Thank you, Emma."

"Please, come in. Dinner's ready."

"Cool!" Henry exclaimed, racing for the kitchen and Mary Margaret. "What are we having, Miss Blanchard?"

"You'll have to ask Emma that. She made it."

Emma held her hands up. "With a lot of help. So it should be edible, I swear."

Mary Margaret laughed. "Emma's not the greatest in the kitchen. But she's getting much better. There were no fires when she made dinner this time." They had agreed not to tell Regina and Henry about Emma's memory for the time being. Emma didn't want to get Henry's hopes up because she knew that it was very possible that the whole thing had been a fluke.

"Thanks, Mary Margaret." Emma rolled her eyes.

"So, what are we having for dinner, Emma?" Regina asked. "Whatever it is, it smells wonderful."

"Oh." Emma grinned. "Well, we're having a Caesar salad to start and then a vegetable stir fry over rice."

"Awesome!" Henry exclaimed, already heading for the table.

"Henry, wash up first." Regina called after him.

"Okay, Mom."

"Mary Margaret made the rice. I don't think she trusts me to boil water. But I did the stir fry. And mixed up the salad."

Emma looked adorably proud of her contribution to the dinner and Regina couldn't stop her own smile from blossoming. "I'm sure it will all be delicious."

"Mom! Emma! Come on, I'm starving!"

The two women laughed and headed for the kitchen, Regina just in front of Emma. Without a thought, Emma placed her hand on the small of Regina's back to help guide her, but as soon as she felt the silk against her skin, she pulled back. Regina glanced back at her with a puzzled look, but Emma was too distracted to notice it. There was definitely something important about that shirt.

"This salad is really good, Emma!" Henry encouraged from his place at the table where he was already eating.

"Henry! Where are your manners?" Regina frowned at the sight of him already eating, but Henry just shrugged.

"Miss Blanchard said it was okay." He defended and Regina felt annoyance bubble within her as she looked over at Mary Margaret, but she quickly tamped it down. The woman hadn't meant any harm.

"Sorry we took so long, kid." Emma grinned, already grabbing a bowl for herself.

"S'okay." Henry assured around a mouthful of salad and Regina just managed not to reprimand him for it. Instead she focused on getting her own bowl of salad. She would not ruin this dinner with her temper. Not when everything seemed to be going so well in her relationships with these people right now.

"So, how's school going?" Emma asked and Henry regaled them with details about school as they ate their salads.

After they'd finished their salads, Emma served up their plates and carried them to the table while Regina, Henry, and Mary Margaret applauded her efforts. She blushed deeply and felt embarrassment twist in her stomach at their reactions, but she also couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride too.

Growing up in the system, her achievements had never been applauded. Other kids got their tests put on refrigerators and overenthusiastic cheering sections at soccer games, but Emma had never had that. After a while, it really didn't seem that important to get As when no one cared one way or the other and if she had any talents, they were never nurtured so they fell to the wayside.

She cleared her throat and blinked back the sudden moisture that had formed in her eyes. "Seriously, guys, I wouldn't applaud yet. You don't even know if it's any good."

"It's so good!" Henry exclaimed around a mouthful of rice and Emma couldn't stop her laughter.

With a smile, she started to eat, too. It really was pretty good, she had to say. Certainly better than anything else she'd made before.

Regina chewed her food, doing her best to keep her features schooled when she tasted that the mushrooms were rather under done. Everything else in the stir fry was delicious and for Emma's first attempt, she would not say anything. She would just slide her mushrooms to the side as Henry was already doing. He'd never liked them anyway, and she could easily feign her own dislike of them.

It was only as she was swallowing the bite with the mushroom and considering that next time she would make dinner - or better yet, she'd teach Emma to make something in her kitchen - that Regina found herself wondering why it was that she was so actively trying not to hurt Emma's feelings. Before, she would've gone out of her way to point out Emma's shortcomings, going so far as to make up complaints if need be. But now, she was more concerned with sparing Emma's feelings. Why on earth was that?

She quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and refocused on Emma. "So, Emma, have you given any more thought to what we discussed this afternoon?" She asked innocently.

Emma's eyes widened just a bit at the mention, her gaze darting from Henry to Mary Margaret and then back to Regina. "Oh, uh, no. Not, um, not really." She really wished Regina hadn't brought that up, and especially not in front of Henry and Mary Margaret. It would only get the kid's hopes up and Mary Margaret would be upset that she hadn't talked to her about it yet.

"What did you discuss this afternoon?" Mary Margaret asked curiously, chewing and swallowing a mushroom without any complaint.

"Oh, nothing." Emma tried, but Regina was already answering as well.

"I asked Miss Swan to consider taking her old job back."

"Regina." Emma frowned.

"What?" Mary Margaret looked between the two women.

"Seriously? Awesome!" Henry exclaimed with a grin. "What did you say, Emma?"

"I - uh," Emma shook her head, hating that she had been put on the spot like this, "I said I'd have to think about it for a while."

"You should do it!" Henry encouraged. "Sidney's no good as sheriff. You were way better."

Emma couldn't help but smile at that just a bit. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid, but like I told your mom, I need some time to think about it."

Henry nodded at that and Regina leaned back, feeling pleased with herself. She was used to manipulating people for her own gain and this had been an easy manipulation to pull off. Now, she just had to wait and see if it worked.

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed as she took a bite of her stir fry that had a mushroom in it. "Why didn't you guys tell me the mushrooms were under done?"

Henry shrugged. "I don't like mushrooms, so I didn't eat them." He pointed to his little pile of picked out mushrooms.

"They're not that bad, Emma." Mary Margaret assured, even as she ate another mushroom to further her point. Once again, Emma was struck by what a good friend she was.

"You don't have to eat them, Mary Margaret. Really. They're terrible." Emma said as she squeezed the teacher's hand, which caused a huge smile to light up her face. Emma took it as her being thankful that she wouldn't have to suffer through the mushrooms anymore, not joy that Emma was touching her.

"And you," Emma turned to Regina, "I'd think you of all people would've called me out."

Regina shrugged and pointed to her own pile of mushrooms. "I am not a fan of mushrooms either."

"Bull." Emma pointed her fork in Regina's direction. "You always get sautéed mushrooms with your steak when you order one at Granny's."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret's voice held the same wonder as it had earlier when she'd remembered the mac and cheese incident.

"You remember that?" Henry asked eagerly. Regina was still surprised that Emma had ever noticed such a detail at all, let alone seemed to remember it now.

Emma blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do."

"What else do you remember?" Henry pressed.

"Henry." Regina shook her head. "Emma is still recovering. It won't help to push her."

Emma offered Henry a smile. "I don't remember much at this point, kid. Little flashes of things like that, but not anything big. Nothing major as of now."

"Still," Henry stayed optimistic, "it's a good sign, right?"

Emma glanced at Mary Margaret and then offered a small nod. "We think so."

"Well," Mary Margaret spoke up, "under done mushrooms or not, dinner was delicious."

"I agree." Regina nodded at Emma.

"Thanks." Emma shrugged with a smile.

**

After the dinner dishes had been cleared away, Henry headed for the living room to pick out a movie with Emma while Regina and Mary Margaret cleaned up the kitchen.

"What about this one?" Henry held up a DVD to Emma and she was pleased to see that it wasn't a movie that could make Henry reference the curse.

"Looks good, kid." She assured him with a smile.

"So, what movie did we decide on?" Regina asked as she came in and sat down next to Emma on the couch.

"Iron Man 2." Henry grinned.

"Imagine that." Regina teased good naturedly and Henry flashed her a smile that made her heart flutter. She was still getting used to him not hating her.

"You've seen it before, I take it?" Emma smirked.

"Only one or two thousand times."

"It's awesome!" Henry defended as he put the movie in. Regina just shook her head but said nothing.

Mary Margaret brought a bowl of popcorn into the room with her, which she handed off to Henry before sitting in one of the chairs in the room. Henry plopped on the floor in front of the couch and although there was no real reason for them to stay sitting so closely now, neither Regina nor Emma moved from their spot.

As the movie played, Emma found her thoughts wondering. She had decided to stay for only a week, but already that decision was being tested. Each day it seemed like there were more and more reasons for her to stay piling up. But could she do it?

Maybe she had been sheriff before, but was she really cut out to do it again when she couldn't remember anything about this town or its people but the smallest, throw away details? And what about Henry? Although she'd been in his life before, she couldn't help but think that it hadn't been in the most positive of ways. Now that he appeared to be getting along with Regina, could she really reinsert herself into their lives and run the risk of ruining that dynamic?

She shifted as she considered these things and found her arm rubbing against Regina's, the silk of the mayor's shirt sliding against her skin. Again, that feeling came to her, the one that said that this shirt was somehow important. It felt familiar against her skin and Regina had made no move to get away from Emma, so she allowed herself to lean against the other woman, trying to place the feeling and why it mattered.

She hated this the most. The frustration at knowing that the memories were there, just the littlest bit out of reach. Why couldn't she just retrieve them? Why couldn't see look at the shirt and know why it mattered? Why did everything have to be such a struggle?

"Are you alright?" Regina asked softly, noticing the strained look on Emma's face.

Emma jerked away at the sound of her voice, then quickly offered a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine."

Regina wanted to protest that she obviously wasn't fine, but she also didn't want to push Emma too far. She was already on slightly shaky ground after bringing up the sheriff's job and lying about the mushrooms. If she pushed more, it might only serve to firm Emma's resolve to leave. And that was not something that Regina wanted, even if she couldn't understand why.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the credit music beginning to play. Emma moved off the couch, grabbing the now empty bowl of popcorn and taking it to the kitchen, even as Henry continued to watch, waiting for the scenes he knew would play after the credits.

"Come on, Henry, we need to get home. It's a school night." Regina told him as she stood up too and although he looked ready to protest, he shook it off and stood.

"Thank you, Mary Margaret, for having us over this evening."

"Yeah, thanks Miss Blanchard." Henry smiled.

"You're very welcome. You know you're welcome any time." Mary Margaret offered warm smiles for both of them.

"You guys leaving?" Emma asked as she came back into the room, only to be caught off guard by Henry's hug.

"Yes, we need to get home. But thank you for dinner. It really was delicious."

"Minus the mushrooms." Emma laughed as she hugged Henry back. "Good night, kid."

"Night, Emma."

Emma walked them to the door, offering Regina a smile. "Goodbye, Madam Mayor."

"Good night, Miss Swan." She winked as she pulled the door closed behind her.

**

"So, are you considering taking the sheriff's position back?" Mary Margaret asked from the doorway of the bedroom where Emma was already sprawled on the bed in her pajamas, her thoughts too scattered to sleep.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like that." She said as she sat up. "I was honestly planning on telling you. Regina just sort of beat me to the punch. Which, I think, was purposeful."

Mary Margaret was almost sure it had been as well, but she feigned surprise as she walked over and settled on the edge of Emma's bed. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

Emma shrugged a bit, then ruffled her short hair. "She brought it up in front of Henry, knowing it would get his hopes up and that I wouldn't want to let him down."

"Mm. And?"

Emma flopped back on her pillows. "And I don't know. I don't want to let the kid down, but I'm still not sure I'm staying for more than the week and even if I am - me? The sheriff?"

"You did alright before." Mary Margaret reminded her.

Emma snorted. "If that's even true, I don't remember any of it. How am I supposed to be the sheriff if I can't even remember anyone in the town?"

"You're getting your memories back slowly. I think that you're just scared. And that's okay, too. But you did do a good job as sheriff. And I for one would like to see you back in uniform." Mary Margaret patted her leg before she stood.

"There's a uniform?" Emma groaned and Mary Margaret just laughed.

"If you're still not sure, why don't you go over to the station tomorrow? Maybe it'll trigger some memories. And if not, it might still help you make your decision."

"Why are you so good at this?" Emma asked.

Mary Margaret just shrugged, even as the words _'I'm your mom, it's what I do'_ floated through her head.

**

Sleep didn't come easily to Emma that night and when it did, it was once again filled with dreams that she couldn't understand and woke frequently from. In some of them, she was wearing the shirt that Regina had been wearing earlier, the silk cool against her skin. In one of those dreams, Regina leaned in close to her, staring her up and down and telling her to enjoy the shirt. Emma woke from that dream confused and short of breath.

The other dreams were similar in that either she or Regina were always close to the other. There was one involving a chain saw and another where she seemed to be slamming Regina against a wall of some kind. There were also the flashes she'd had before, of Regina leaning in to her and asking for her help, for her to bring him to her. Emma assumed the him was Henry but she couldn't be sure. None of the dreams lasted very long but they played over and over, jumbling together in her head until she couldn't sleep because she was trying to figure them out.

Across town, Regina wasn't fairing much better, her own thoughts occupied by her actions at dinner. When Emma had complimented her, she hadn't been able to stop her smile. And the few times Emma had touched her, she'd felt heat course through her body. Then there were the mushrooms and the way she hadn't wanted to hurt Emma's feelings. None of it made any sense and she was still stuck on why she'd even wanted the woman back in the first place.

She mulled over all the possibilities - her boredom, Henry's want of Emma - but they still didn't seem to add up in the face of what she'd done - what she'd risked - to bring Emma back. There was one other possibility that tickled at the back of her mind but she quickly pushed it away. It was impossible and she wouldn't spend her time thinking about it. No, she needed another answer - a plausible answer. And there was only person who could give it to her.

**

Mary Margaret felt a vague sense of déjà vu when she heard the sound of heels clicking in the hallway outside her classroom early the next morning.

"Regina," she smiled as the mayor entered the room this time, doing her best to appear welcoming, "what brings you by so early this morning?"

"I -" Regina faltered, still not comfortable with the reason she was here, even after everything that had happened. "I need to talk to you."

"Of course." Mary Margaret nodded and moved to the guided reading table at the front of the room, motioning for Regina to sit. The chairs were children's sized and for a moment, Regina stared at them with disdain before she shook her head and sat down. "What's going on? Is it something with Henry or Emma or…?"

Regina looked at Mary Margaret, asking the question that had been haunting her all night and led to her coming here this morning. "Why did I bring her back?"

Mary Margaret blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Emma. Why did I bring her back here?"

Mary Margaret said nothing, just searched Regina's face. Regina hated the silence and the scrutiny so she continued talking.

"I hated her. I wanted her gone. And she was finally gone. So why did I go out of my way to bring her back? I risked everything… my job, my son, _everything_ … just to bring her back here. Why?"

Mary Margaret considered Regina's words for a few moments before offering her a small smile. "I think you already know, Regina. You may not be ready to acknowledge it right now, but deep down inside, I think you do know."

Regina shook her head quickly against the words. "No, I - I don't. I -"

Mary Margaret rose and walked around the table, placing her hands on Regina's shoulders and giving them a soft squeeze. "It's okay. It's okay now and it'll still be okay when you're ready."

"Mary Margaret." Regina almost sounded like she was pleading. " _Snow_."

"When you're ready, Regina." She assured as the school bell rang and she moved back towards her desk. "When you're ready."  



End file.
